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VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 

CONVERSION 

OP 

PETER BAYSSIERE 

AND 

HISTORY 

07 

A BIBLE. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY 

150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK. 



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THE 



VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 



M. , a merchant, at the head of one of the 

first commercial houses in Paris,* had occasion 
to visit the manufactories established in the 
mountainous tracts of the Departments of the 
Loire and the Puy de D6me. The road that con- 
ducted him back to Lyons traversed a country 
rich in natural productions, and glowing with all 
the charms of an advanced and promising spring. 
The nearer view was unusually diversified ; not 
only by the fantastic forms of mountains, the un- 
certain course of small and tributary streams, 
and the varying hues of fields of pasture, corn, 
vines, and vegetables, but by the combinations 
and contrasts of nature and of art, and the oc- 
cupations of rural and commercial industry. 
Factories and furnaces were seen rising amidst 
barns and sheep-cotes ; peasants were digging, 
and ploughs gliding amidst forges and founde- 
ries ; verdant slopes and graceful clumps of 

* An American gentleman then residing in that capital. 



6 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (G 

trees were scattered amidst the black and ugly 
mouths of exhausted coal-pits ; and the gentle 
murmur of the stream was subdued by the loud 

rattle of the loom. Sometimes M. and his 

friend halted amidst all that is delightful and 
soothing 5 and after a short advance, found them- 
selves amidst barrenness, deformity, and confu- 
sion. The remoter scenery was not less impres- 
sive. Behind them were the rugged mountains 
of Puy de DOme ; the lofty Tarare lifted its ma- 
jestic head beside them, and far before appeared 
the brilliant summit of Mont Blanc. 

In this state of mind he arrived at the skirts 
of a hamlet placed on the declivity of a moun- 
tain 5 and being desirous of finding a shorter 
and more retired track, he stopped at a decent- 
looking dwelling-house to inquire the way. From 
the windows several females were watching the 

movements of a little child ; and just as M. 

inquired for a road across the mountains, the in- 
fant was in danger of being crushed by a coal- 
cart which had entered the street. The cries 
and alarms of the females were met by the ac- 
tivity of the travelers, and the companion of 
M. — — set off to snatch the infant from danger, 
and place him in security. An elderly female, 

from the second story, gave M. , who was 

still on his horse, the directions he desired ; and, 
at the same time, expressed her uneasiness that 



7) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 7 

the gentleman should have had the trouble to 
seek the child. 

" Madam," interrupted M. , " my friend 

is only performing his duty : we ought to do to 
another as we would that another should do to 
us ; and in this wretched world we are bound 
to assist each other. You are kind enough to di- 
rect us travelers in the right road, and surely the 
least we can do is to rescue your child from dan- 
ger. The Holy Scriptures teach us these duties, 
and the Gospel presents us the example of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were in igno- 
rance and danger, came to our world to seek and 
to save that which was lost." 

" Ah ! sir," replied the good woman, " you are 
very condescending, and what you say is very 
true j but your language surprises me : it is so 
many years since in this village we have heard 
such truths, and especially from the lips of a 
stranger." 

?e Madam," resumed M. , " we are all stran- 
gers here, and sojourners bound to eternity ; 
there is but one road, one guide, one Saviour, 
who can conduct us safely ; if we feel this, young 
or old, rich or poor, we are all one in Christ ; 
and however scattered on earth, shall all arrive 
at the heavenly city, to which he is gone to pre- 
pare mansions for us." 

f These doctrines, sir," exclaimed the female, 



8 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (8 

" support the hearts of many of us, who have 
scarcely travelled beyond our own neighborhood ; 
and it is so rare and so delightful to hear them 
from others, that, if it will not be an abuse of 
your christian politeness, I would request you to 
alight and visit my humble apartment." 

"I shall comply most cheerfully with your re- 
quest," replied M. ; "for though time is pre- 
cious, I shall be thankful to spend a few minutes 
in these mountains, among those with whom I 
hope to dwell for ever on Mount Sion." 

M. mounted to the second story, followed 

by his companion. He found the female with 
whom he had conversed, surrounded by her 
daughters and her grand-daughters, all busily 
employed in five looms, filled with galloons and 
ribbons, destined for the capital and the most 
distant cities of the world. The good widow was 
between sixty and seventy years of age ; her ap- 
pearance was neat and clean ; and all the ar- 
rangements of her apartment bespoke industry, 
frugality, and piety. 

" Ah ! sir," she exclaimed, as M. entered, 

f< how happy am I to receive such a visiter !" 

"Madam," replied M. , "I am not worthy 

to enter under this roof." 

"Why, sir," exclaimed the widow, "you talked 
to us of Jesus Christ and — " 

" Yes, madam, but I am a poor guilty sinner 



9) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 9 

and hope only for salvation through the cross. 

I was yesterday at St. , where they were 

planting a cross with great ceremony ; were you 
there?" 

"No, sir; for it is of little use to erect crosses 
in the streets, if we do not carry the cross in our 
hearts, and are not crucified to the world. But, 
sir, if you will not be offended, may I ask what 
you are called?" 

M. , giving a general sense to the French 

phraseology, answered, " My name, madam, is 



tf Thank you, sir, I shall not forget; but this 
is not what I meant, I wished to know whether 
you are protestant or catholic, a pastor or a 
priest 1" 

" Madam, I have not the honor to be either ; I 
am a merchant ; I desire to be a christian, and 
to have no other title but a disciple of Christ." 

* That is exactly as Ave are here, sir," ex- 
claimed the good widow, and added, " but, as 
you are so frank, are you, sir, catholic, or pro- 
testant 1" 

" Catholic," replied M. . 

Madam looked confused, and observed, " that 
it was rare for the catholics to talk as her visiter 
had done." 

"I am a catholic," resumed M. , "but not 

a member of the Roman Catholic church. I love 



10 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (10 

all tliat love our Lord Jesus in sincerity. I do 
not ask in what fold they feed, so that they are 
guided and nourished by the good Shepherd and 
Bishop of souls. " 

" what a favor the Lord has granted us to 
meet with a christian like ourselves," said the 
affected widow, looking round her: "we desire 
to live in charity with all mankind ; but, to be 
frank also, sir, we do not go to mass, nor to 
confession, for we do not learn from our Testa- 
ment, which is indeed almost worn out, that we 
are required to confess to sinners like ourselves, 
nor to worship the host, nor to perform penance 
for the salvation of our souls ; and we believe 
we can serve God acceptably in a cave, or in a 
chamber, or on a mountain." 

"I confess, madam, in my turn," said M. , 

" that I am exceedingly astonished to find such 
persons on such a spot 5 pray how many may 
there be of your sentiments 1" 

"Here, sir, and scattered over the mountains, 
there are from three to four hundred. We meet 
on Sabbath evenings, and as often as we can, to 
pray to Jesus, to read the Testament, and to 
converse about the salvation of our souls. We 
are so much persecuted by the clergy, that we 
cannot appear as publicly as we wish. We are 
called beguines* and fools ; but I can bear this, 

* Religious enthusiasts. 



11) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 11 

and I hope a great deal more, for Him who has 
suffered so much for us." 

While the conversation, of which this is a 
sketch; was passing, the rooms had filled; the 
neighbors had been informed and introduced, at 
the request of the worthy hostess ; and as many 
as could quit their occupations pressed to hear 

of the things of the kingdom of God. M. 

desired f to see the New Testament. It was pre- 
sented. The title page was gone, the leaves were 
almost worn to shreds by the fingers of the wea- 
vers and laborers, and M. could not discover 

the edition. A female of respectable appearance 

approached M. , and said, " Sir, for several 

years I have sought every where a New Testa- 
ment, and I have offered any price for one in all 
the neighboring viL'ages, but in vain. Could you, 
sir, possibly procure me a copy, I will gladly 
pay you any sum you demand — " 

" Madam, I will not only procure you one" re- 
plied M. eagerly, "but, in fortjr-eight hours 

I will send you half a dozen." 

"Is it possible 1" exclaimed the astonished vil- 
lagers. l \ May we, sir, believe the good news ] 
May we rely on your promise % It appears too 
great — too good — we will pay for them now, sir, 
if you please." 

" You may depend on receiving them," said 
M. , "if God prolongs my life. But I entreat 



12 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (12 

you to do me the favor to accept them, as a proof 
of my christian regard, and an expression of my 
gratitude for having been permitted to enjoy, in 
this unpromising spot, the refreshing company 
of the followers of Christ." 

The conversation then turned on the value of 
the sacred volume, and the sinfulness of those 
who withhold it from perishing and dejected 
sinners. After some time, the hostess inquired, 
" Pray, sir, can you tell us if any thing extraor- 
dinary is passing in the world'? We are shut out 
from all intercourse ; but we have an impression 
that God is commencing a great work in the 
earth, and that wonderful events are coming to 
pass." 

" Great events have taken place, and news is 

arriving every day," said M. , "from all parts 

of the world, of the progress of the Gospel, and 
the fulfilment of the Holy Scriptures. He then 
gave to his attentive and enraptured auditory an 
outline of the moral changes accomplished by 
the diffusion of the Bible, the labors of mission- 
aries and the establishment of schools ; but only 
such an outline as was suited to their general 
ignorance of the state of what is called the reli- 
gious world. And when he had concluded, they 
all joined in the prayer: "Thy kingdom come, 
thy will be done on earth, as it is done in hea- 
ven." Anxious as was M. to pursue his jour- 



13) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 13 

ney, he devoted three hours to this interview. 
He exhorted them to receive and practise only 
what they found in the Scriptures, and to cleave 
to the Lord with full purpose of heart. 

The termination of this extraordinary meeting 
was most affecting : tears of pleasure, gratitude, 
and regret streamed from the eyes of the moun- 
taineers ; and the traveller, though more deeply 
moved by having seen the grace of God than by 
all the scenes through which he had passed, went 
on his way rejoicing, and following the directions 
of the good widow, he arrived at the town of 

S . In this town he had correspondents 

among the principal inhabitants and authorities, 
and under the impression of all he had witnessed, 
he inquired, as if with the curiosity of a traveller, 
the name of the hamlet he had passed on the 
mountains, and the nature of the employments, 
and the character of its inhabitants. 

c The men," said the mayor, rr work in the 
mines, drive the teams, and labor in the fields ; 
and the women and children weave. They are 
a very curious people, outres illumines, (new 
lights,) but the most honest work-people in the 
country — probity itself. We have no occasion to 
weigh our silk, either when we give it out or take 
it in, for we are sure not to lose the value of a 
farthing; and the kindest creatures in the world: 
they will take their clothes off their backs to give 



14 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (14 

to any one in distress: indeed, there is no wretch- 
edness among them, for, though poor, they are 
industrious, temperate, charitable, and always as- 
sist each other ; but touch them on their religion, 
and they are almost idiots. They never go to 
mass nor confession — in fact, they are not chris- 
tians, though the most worthy people in the world ; 
and so droll: imagine those poor people, after 
working all the week, instead of enjoying the 
Sunday, and going to a f6te or a ball to amuse 
themselves, meeting in each other's houses, and 
sometimes in the mountains, to read some book, 
and pray, and sing hymns. They are very clever 
work-people, but they pass their Sundays and 
holidays stupidly enough." 

This testimony, so honorable to his new ac- 
quaintance, was confirmed to M. — from se- 
veral quarters ; and he learned from others, what 
he had not been told by themselves, that, besides 
their honesty and charity, so great is their zeal, 
that they flock from the different hamlets, and 
meet in the mountains, in cold and bad weather, 
at eight or nine o'clock at night, to avoid the in- 
terruption of their enemies, and to sing and pray. 

These accounts were not calculated to lessen 

the interest excited in the breast of M. , and 

immediately on his arrival at Lyons, he dis- 
patched six copies of the New Testament, and 
some copies of the Tract entitled, " Les Deux 



15) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 15 

Vieillards," ■ (The Two Old Men.) Some time 

after his return to Paris, M. received, 

through one of his correspondents at Lyons, a 
letter from the excellent widow with whom he 
had conversed. Of this letter a literal translation 
is subjoined; the modesty, dignity, and piety of 
which not only evince the influence of true reli- 
gion, but will satisfy the reader, that in this nar- 
ration no exaggerated statement has been made of 
the character of these mountaineers. 

ct Sir, — I have the honor to write you, to as- 
sure you of my very humble respects, and at the 
same time to acknowledge the reception of the 
feix copies of the New Testament which you had 
the goodness and the generosity to send us. My 
family, myself, and my neighbors know not how, 
adequately, to express our sincere gratitude \ for 
we have nothing in the world so precious as that 
sacred volume, which is the best food of our 
souls, and our certain guide to the heavenly Je- 
rusalem. 

"As we believe and are assured that the Spirit 
of our Lord Jesus Christ could alone have inspired 
you with the desire to distribute the sacred Scrip- 
tures to those who are disposed to make a holy 
use of them, we hope and believe that the Divine 
Saviour will be himself your recompense ; and 
that he will give to you, as well as to all of us, 



16 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (16 

the grace to understand and to seek a part in his 
second coming; for this ought to be our only and 
constant desire in the times of darkness and tri- 
bulation in which we live. 

" It is with this view, sir, that I entreat you to 
have the goodness to send six more copies of the 
sacred volume for several of my friends, who are 
delighted, not only with the beauty of the type, 
but especially with the purity of the edition ; for 
it is sufficient to see the name of Monsieur le 
Maitre de Sacy, to be assured that this edition is 
strictly conformable to the sacred text. Sir, as 
the persons who have charged me to entreat you 
to send six more copies of the New Testament 
would be sorry to abuse your generosity, they 
also charge me to say, that if you accomplish 
their wishes, as your truly christian kindness in- 
duces them to hope, and will mark the price on 
the books, they shall feel it to be a pleasure and 
duty to remit you the amount, when I acknow- 
ledge the arrival of the parcel. Could you also 
add six copies of the little Tract, entitled * Les 
Deux Vieillards V 

ct I entreat you, sir, to excuse the liberty I have 
taken, and to believe that, while life remains, I 
am, in the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

" Your very humble servant, 

"The Widow " 



17) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 17 

The reception of this letter revived in M. 



that lively interest which he had been constrained 
to feel for the prosperity of these happy villagers. 
Often had he called to mind the christian kind- 
ness with which they received him, and often 
had he presented his ardent prayer to the God 
of grace, that he who "had begun a good work 
in them," would carrv it on to "the day of Jesus 
Christ." 

Instead of complying with the request of this 
venerable woman to send her six copies of the 
New Testament, he sent her twenty, authorizing 
her to sell them to such as were able to pay; but 
to present them, at her own discretion, to those 
who were desirous of obtaining them, and had 
not the means to purchase, rt without money and 
without price." With these he also presented to 
the widow, as a mark of his christian affection, 
a Bible for her own use, together with a dozen 
copies of the Tract which she had requested, and 
several other religious books. In acknow edging 
this unexpected bounty, she thus replied, in a. 
letter, dated July 17, 1821: 

"Respected friend and brother in our Lord 
Jesus Christ, — It is impossible to describe the 
satisfaction that my heart experienced on the ar- 
rival of the kind communications which you have 
been pleased to send me. I could not help read- 

ViL in Mountain. 2 



18 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (18 

ing over and over again the letters enclosed, 
which afford fresh proof of the desire of your- 
self and your friends to contribute to the ad- 
vancement of the reign of the Divine Redeemer. 
I cannot find words to express the happiness I 
have derived from perusing the entire copy of 
the Old and New Testament, which you beg me 
to accept as an expression of your christian af- 
fection. I was more gratified and edified by this 
mark of your regard, as it was my intention to 
have requested, in my last letter, some copies of 
the Old Testament \ but I dared not execute my 
design, for fear of abusing your christian kind- 
ness and charity. The Old and New Testament, 
properly understood, are but one Testament; such 
is the connection of the sacred books — for the New 
Testament is the key to the Old, and the Old the 
same to the New. In innumerable passages of 
the Old Testament, the birth, death, and glory 
of our Divine Redeemer are announced, in terms 
more or less distinct. In reading the prophecies 
of Jeremiah and Isaiah, we perceive that those 
prophets spoke of our Saviour almost as though 
they had lived with him on the earth. His second 
coming is also foretold in many passages, espe- 
cially in the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel. 
" The box which your christian generosity has 
sent, has excited universal joy in the hearts of 
all our friends in this district. Immediately after 



19) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 19 

they learned the agreeable news, they flocked to 
see me, and to have the happiness and advantage 
of procuring the Testament of our Kedeemer ; 
and in less than Jive days the box was emptied. 
I gave copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew to 
those who had not the satisfaction and consola- 
tion to procure a complete copy of the Testa- 
ment. The whole was so soon distributed that 
many could have nothing $ and there are also 
many who do not yet know of the arrival of the 
second box. I intend to lend the copy of the 
Bible, and of the books which I have reserved 
for myself, among our friends in the neighbor- 
hood, in order that the books we have may be 
as useful as possible. 

" As I hope you will do me the honor and the 
christian kindness to acknowledge the receipt of 
this, I request you to inform me how I can remit 
you sixty francs, which I have received for fifteen 
of the New Testaments. As our brethren and 
sisters in Jesus Christ, who, through his grace 
altogether free and unmerited, look for his se- 
cond coming to salvation, are delighted and edi- 
fied by the truly christian salutation which you 
have sent through me, they desire me to express 
their gratitude, and to request you to accept theirs 
in the same spirit. I unite with them in beseech- 
ing you and your respectable friend , and all 

your friends, not to forget us in your prayers to 



20 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (20 

the Father of Lights, that he may give us grace 
to persevere in the same sentiments, and grant 
us all the, mercy to join the general assembly, 
the heavenly Jerusalem. Amen. Expecting that 
happy day, I entreat you to believe me your very 
humble servant and friend in Jesus Christ, 

" The Widow ." 

It may well be supposed that the reception of 
this interesting letter produced an effect on the 

mind of M. , as well as on the minds of 

many of his christian friends at Paris, of the 

happiest kind. M. informed the widow of 

the great satisfaction with which he had learned 
the eagerness of the villagers to obtain the word 
of God, and that he had directed his friend, the 
publisher of the New Testament of De Sacy, to 
send her fifty copies more ; at the same time 
promising her a fresh supply, if they should be 
needed. He also expressed to her the hope, that, 
as he expected his business would, within a few 

months, call him again to S , he should be 

able, Providence permitting, to avail himself of 
that opportunity and enjoy the happiness of an- 
other visit at her residence. To this communi- 
cation she some time afterwards returned the 
following reply: 

"Dear sir, and brother in our Lord Jesus 



21) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 21 

Christ. — May the grace and unmerited mercy of 
our Divine Saviour be our single and only hope 
in our pilgrimage here below. I beseech you and 
your dear friends to pray for us, that the celes- 
tial Comforter promised in the Scriptures, would 
vouchsafe to visit our hearts and warm them with 
his love ; for without the aid of this Divine Light, 
even though we should commit to memory the 
Old and New Testament, it would avail us no- 
thing ; but rather tend to our greater condemna- 
tion in the sight of our Sovereign Judge. 

"I am now able to acknowledge the receipt of 
the box which you had the goodness and christian 
charity to send me, containing fifty copies of the 
Testament of our blessed Saviour, which did not 
arrive until the 25th of last month, on account of 
its having been detained in the public store at 

S for several days without my knowledge. 

As soon as I learned it was there, I sent one of 
my daughters to inquire for it, as I was then so 
ill as to keep my bed, and to induce a belief that 
I was about to quit this land of exile. I have felt 
myself so much better for a few days past, that 
I begin to think that my pilgrimage will be pro- 
longed for some time, and that I may yet have 
the pleasure and consolation of again seeing 
you, and conversing with you upon the things 
which regard our eternal peace. It is with such 
feelings that I would beg an interest in your 



22 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (22 

prayers, that the precious blood which the Di- 
vine Saviour has been willing to shed for us and 
other sinners, may be found efficacious to me in 
that moment when I shall depart from this vale 
of tears ; for my age admonishes that this time 
is not far distant. Believe me, my dear brother 
in Christ, that I shall never forget you in my 
prayers, however feeble they may be ; for I can 
never forget the day when, urged by christian 
friendship, you entered my house, and imparted 
that truly spiritual nourishment which serves for 
time and eternity, and we discoursed together 
upon the second coming of our Divine Redeemer, 
and the restoration of the covenant people. 

tl I look forward to the happy moment when I 
shall have the honor and pleasure of seeing you 
again ; and in the meantime beg you to believe 
me your very humble and affectionate friend and 
servant in Jesus Christ, 

"The Widow ." 

In a letter received soon after the above, M. 
was informed that the Bibles and Testa- 



ments had all been disposed of within two days 
from the time of their arrival, and that many, 
who earnestly desired a copy, were yet unsup- 
plied: the distribution having only created an 
increased demand. M. resolved not to ne- 
glect their wants, as long as it was in his power 



23) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 23 

to supply them ; and the day being not far distant, 

when he proposed to repair to S , and to make 

a second visit to the Village in the Mountains, he 
prepared a case of a hundred New Testaments 
and a hundred octavo Bibles, which he forwarded 
to Lyons by the roulage accelere, or baggage wag- 
on, to meet his arrival there \ and soon after took 
his departure from Paris. 

There were some interesting incidents in the 
progress of this tour, which so delightfully point 
to the hand of God, that the reader may be gra- 
tified in becoming acquainted with them. On his 

arrival at Lyons, M. , finding no other way of 

transportation except the common Diligence, a 
public stage-coach, was obliged to resort to this 
conveyance. The case of Bibles and Testaments 
which he had forwarded was so large, that the 
only method by which it could be carried was to 
set it up on end in the basket attached to the 
back of the Diligence ; and such was the weight 
and size of the box, that it was with no small dif- 
ficulty, and by the assistance of several men, that 
it was safely adjusted. At first the passengers 
objected to taking their seats with such a weight 
behind, lest they should meet with some acci- 
dent, or be impeded in their progress. After 
much persuasion, however, and after presenting 
a number of Religious Tracts to each passenger, 
and requesting the conductor to drive slow, they 



24 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (24 

were prevailed on to proceed on their journey. 
The course they were pursuing led through a 
part of the country solely inhabited by Roman 

Catholics, where, the year before, M. had 

distributed a number of Bibles and Tracts, the 
reading of which, he had subsequently ascer- 
tained, had been forbidden by the priests, who 
had not only demanded them, but consigned most 
or all of them to the flames. M. thought ne- 
cessary, in this journey, to suspend his distri- 
butions in this immediate vicinity. But the pro- 
vidence of God had other views, and so ordered 
it, that, without the instrumentality of men, the 
sacred records should be scattered among that 
people. On reaching the place of his destination 
at the foot of the mountains, and alighting from 

the Diligence, M. discovered that the case 

had opened at the top, and that not a few Bibles 
and Testaments had been scattered along the 
way. Travellers were soon seen coming up, 
some in wagons and some on horseback, some 
with a Bible and some with a New Testament 
under their arm. They informed him, that, for 
eight or ten miles back, the inhabitants had been 
supplied by the Diligence, as the books had fallen 
out whenever they descended a hill, or travelled 
over rocky and uneven ground. 

While taking the case from the Diligence, se- 
veral more persons came up, each bringing his 



25) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 25 

Bible or Testament, which they most readily of 

fered to return to M. , but which he as 

cheerfully requested them to accept, observing 
to them, that they had been destined for their 
perusal by that Providence whose unseen hand 
directs all human events. Though ignorant of 
the contents of the volume which God had thus 
given them, they expressed many thanks to M. 
for his generosity, and were about to pro- 
ceed on their way, apparently rejoicing, when 

M. dismissed them by saying: "My friends, 

I feel peculiarly happy in thus being the instru- 
ment of putting into your hands that volume 
which contains the records of eternal life, and 
which points you to * the Lamb of God, which 
taketh away the sin of the world.' If you faith- 
fully read it, and imbibe its glorious and precious 
truths, and obey its precepts, it will render you 
happy in this life, and happy during the endless 
ages of eternity." 

Having opened the case, M. found that 

forty-nine Bibles and Testaments had been thus 
distributed. Some of his fellow-passengers were 
ready to believe that the box had been intention- 
ally left open, but M. assured them that it 

had been carefully secured in the usual manner, 
and that not until his arrival at the spot where 
they alighted, had he known that any had fallen 
out. 



26 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (26 

Having made arrangements to have the case 
forwarded to the widow, and having addressed 
to her a note informing her of his intention to 

proceed to the large village of S , where he 

proposed tarrying a few days, during which time 
he hoped once more to visit her and her friends, 

M. resumed his seat in the Diligence, and 

arrived at S the same night. On the next 

day but one after his arrival, he was agreeably 
surprised, at an early hour in the morning, to 
find the hotel where he lodged surrounded by 
fifty or sixty persons, inquiring for the gentle- 
man who had, a day or two before, presented to 
a number of their citizens the book, which, as 
they said, * r contained a true history of the birth, 
life, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension 
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." Others 
of them called it by its proper name, the New 
Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
All of them were anxious to purchase a copy of 

it. As soon as M ascertained the object of 

their visit, he appeared on the balcony, and ex- 
pressed his regret that he had no more of those 
interesting volumes with him ; informing them 
that, if it pleased God he should return to Paris, 
he would forward a hundred to his correspondent 
in that place, that each of them might be fur- 
nished with a copy. This was accordingly done 
immediately after his return to Paris. And during 



27) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 27 

his residence there, M had the satisfaction 

to see, that more or less individuals from S , 

who came to solicit orders for their manufac- 
turing establishments, also brought orders for an 
additional supply of the sacred volume. And the 
number of Bibles and Testaments which were in- 
troduced into a dense catholic population, in con- 
sequence of the apparently trivial circumstance 
of the opening of the case in the Diligence, will 
probably never be ascertained until the great day 
of account ; nor will it be known to what extent 
they have been instrumental in reclaiming and 
saving the souls of deluded men. 

On the day following M. received a de- 
putation from the Village in the Mountains, anx- 
iously desiring to hear on what day and hour 
they might hope to enjoy his long-expected visit. 
He proposed to be at the widow's house the fol- 
lowing morning, at 11 o'clock. Furnished with 
a carriage and horses by one of his friends, he 
set out accordingly; and, on reaching the foot 
of the mountain, was met by a deputation of 
twelve or fifteen of these faithful followers of 
the Lamb, who greeted his approach with de- 
monstrations of joy. He immediately descended 
from the carriage, and was conducted to the 
house of the widow with every expression of 
the most sincere christian affection, some taking 
him by the sleeve, and others by the skirts of 



28 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (28 

his coat, some preceding and others following 
him. But what was his surprise, on arriving at 
the house, to find an assembly of from sixty to 
eighty, who, with one voice, desired him to 

preach to them ! M. observed to them, that 

he was an unworthy layman, and totally unqua- 
lified for such a responsible duty, and the more 
so at that time, as his mind had been occupied 
in his secular business ; and he felt the need of 
himself receiving instruction, instead of attempt- 
ing to impart it to others. But a chair had been 
placed for him in a suitable part of the room, 
and a small table, covered with a green cloth, 
placed before it, on which was laid the copy of 
the Bible which M. had, some months be- 
fore, presented to the widow. M. saw he 

could not avoid saying something to this impor- 
tunate company, and looking to God for assist- 
ance and a blessing, took the chair which had 
been set for him, and resolved to attempt to 
draw from the Bible, for their benefit, such in- 
struction and consolation as he might be enabled 
to impart. 

To the eye of M. every thing gave beauty 

and solemnity to this unexpected scene. The 
room into which he was conducted was filled 
with the villagers, all conveniently accommo- 
dated on benches. A large door opened in the 
rear of the house, and discovered the declivity 



29) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 29 

of the mountain on which it stood, skirted also 
with listening auditors. While, at a distance, the 
flocks and herds were peacefully feeding, the 
trees, covered with beautiful foliage, were waving 
in the breeze, and all nature seemed to be in har- 
mony with those sacred emotions which so ob- 
viously pervaded this rural assembly. 

After addressing the throne of grace, M. 

read a part of the fourth chapter of the Acts of 
the Apostles. He turned their attention more es- 
pecially to that interesting passage in the twelfth 
verse : " There is none other name under heaven, 
given among men, whereby we must be saved" He 
endeavored to point out to them the exceeding 
sinfulness of sin, the awful consequences of vio- 
lating the law of God, the inefficacy of all those 
expedients which the ignorance, the pride, or the 
self-righteousness of men had substituted for the 
"only name/' Christ Jesus. He spoke of the ne- 
cessity of this great sacrifice on the cross, of the 
love of God in sending his Son into the world, 
of the fullness and all-sufficiency of the mighty 
redemption, and of the duty of sinners to accept 
it and live. " It is through Christ alone," said 
he, "that you can have hope of pardon and sal- 
vation. You must take up the cross and follow 
Christ. You must renounce your sins and flee 
to Christ. You must renounce your own righte- 
and trust alone in Christ. You must re- 



30 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (30 

nounce all other lords, and submit to Christ. If 
you had offended an earthly monarch, to whom 
you could have access only through his son, 
would you address yourselves to his servants, ra- 
ther than his son ? And will you then, in the great 
concerns of your souls, go to any other than the 
Son? Will you have recourse to the Virgin 
Mary, or some favored servant, rather than ad- 
dress yourselves to Him who is *the way, and 
the truth, and the life V and when God himself 
assures us, that * there is none other name under 
heaven, given among men, whereby we must be 
saved V " 

Having thus proceeded for the space of fifteen 
or twenty minutes, and at a moment when the 
greater part of his audience were in tears, the 
widow suddenly came running to M. — — , saying, 
with great agitation, " Monsieur ! Monsieur /" 

" What, madam, what 1" said M. . 

" I perceive," said she, " at a distance, the 
deputy mayor of a neighboring village, in com- 
pany with several women, approaching with a 
speedy step towards my house. These people 
are among our greatest persecutors — shall I not 
call in our little band of brothers and sisters, and 
fasten the doors V 

" No, madam," said M. ; " on the con- 
trary, if it be possible, open the doors still wider ; 
trust in God our Saviour, and leave to me the di- 
rection of this matter." 



31) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 31 

By this time considerable alarm seemed to 
pervade the whole assembly, and some confusion 
ensued, in consequence of several leaving their 

seats. M. begged them to be composed, 

and to resume their seats, saying, that the object 
for which they were assembled was one which 
God would accept of and approve, which angels 
would delight in, and at which Satan trembled ; 
and that they had nothing to fear from the arm 
of flesh. By this time the mayor made his ap- 
pearance at the threshold of the door, together 
with his attendants. 

" Come in, sir," said M. , " and be seated," 

pointing to a chair placed near the table. 

"No, sir," said he, "I prefer to remain here." 

"But I prefer," said M. , "that you come 

in, and also your companions, and be seated." 

Perceiving M. to be firm in his determina- 
tion, they complied, and were all seated among 
his nearest auditors. 

M. then, without any further remarks, 

having the Bible open before him, directed their 
attention to those words in Christ's Sermon on 
the Mount : " Blessed are they which are persecu- 
ted for righteousness^ sake ; for theirs is the king- 
dom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall re- 
vile you, and persecute you, and shall say all man- 
ner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Re- 
joice and be exceeding glad ; for great is your 



32 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (32 

reward in heaven ; for so persecuted they the pro- 
phets which were before you." Matt. 5 : 10, 12. 

M. proceeded to set before them the suf- 
ferings of the apostles and primitive christians 
for the truth as it is in Jesus, and the constancy 
and firmness with which, in all circumstances, 
they endured these sufferings, on account of the 
love which they bore to their Saviour ; that they 
had good reasons for so doing, for they were as- 
sured by Christ, in the words just read, that 
*-! great should be their reward in heaven." M. 
then proceeded to show the immense re- 
sponsibility which those assumed, and the enor- 
mity of their guilt, who, ignorantly or designedly, 
persecuted the followers of Christ. That they 
were but " heaping up to themselves wrath against 
the day of wrath." That the day was not far dis- 
tant, when the awful realities of eternity would 
burst upon their view ] and that every man would 
then be judged " according to the deeds done in 
the body." 

When M. had proceeded in this manner 

for ten or twelve minutes, bringing the truth to 
bear especially upon the minds of his new au- 
dience, he perceived the mayor wiping his eyes 
with the cuff of his sleeve, who, rising at that 
moment from his seat, exclaimed : 

w Sir, I acknowledge that I have heretofore felt 
an enmity towards many of the people whom I 



33) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 33 

here see before me ; and have, as far as my in- 
fluence extended in my official capacity, endea- 
vored to break up what I have considered their 
illegal assemblies, and to coerce them back with- 
in the pale of the mother church, which one after 
another of them have been abandoning for years 
past. But if all that you have expressed be true, 
and is in conformity with the sacred volume of 
God's word, and if the book which you hold in 
your hand is a correct translation of the original 
copy, I beg you to sell it me, that I may peruse 
it myself, and give the reading of it to others 
better able to judge of its contents: and if I 
there find the promises and threatenings as 
stated by you to be correct, you may rely upon 
it that, so far from persecuting these in other 
respects harmless people, I will hereafter be 
their friend." 

On hearing this, M. immediately requested 

the widow to bring several Bibles from the case 
which he brought with him in the Diligence, and 
which had reached the house according to his 
direction ; one of which he presented to the 
mayor, and one to each of his catholic associates. 
On the mayor's offering pay for the one put into 

his hand, M. observed, that he had much 

pleasure in presenting it to him, as well as to his 
companions, in the hope that they would here- 
after not only become the friends of this inte- 

Vil. in Mountains. 3 



34 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (34 

resting people, but, what was of more importance, 
the friends of Jesus Christ, who is the " only 
Mediator between God and man." 

With this they took their departure : M. 

observing to them, that his heart's desire and 
prayer to God was, that, by a careful, humble, 
and prayerful perusal of that sacred volume, their 
understandings might become enlightened, and 
their hearts imbued with the riches of divine 
grace ) that they might thereby be led hereafter 
to advocate the very cause which they had hi- 
therto been attempting to destroy ; and that, 
when they had done serving God their Saviour 
here below, they might find themselves among 
that happy number " whose names are written in 
the Lamb's book of life." 

They left the house, all of them in tears, and 
as it appeared, deeply impressed with the truths 
which had been exhibited. 

After he had concluded these remarks, M. 

requested that some of the remaining Bibles and 
Testaments might be brought and laid before 
him on the table. These he distributed gratu- 
itously to all present who had not before been 
supplied, and who were unable to purchase them. 
While he was doing this, many who had pre- 
viously received the sacred volume, came for- 
ward and manifested their gratitude by laying 
upon the table their various donations of from 



35) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 35 

two to ten francs* each, till, in a few moments, 

the table was well nigh covered. M. told 

them he was unwilling to receive money in that 
manner, and wished them to put their gifts into 
the hands of the widow, accompanied by the 
names of the donors, that they might be regu- 
larly accounted to the Bible Society. This they 
consented to with some reluctance, when the 
widow brought from her drawer a purse contain- 
ing a hundred and seventy francs, saying to M. 

, that he could not refuse that money, as it 

was the proceeds of Bibles and Testaments which 
she had sold in compliance with his directions. 
M. replied to her, that he had indeed re- 
quested her to sell these volumes to such as were 
able to purchase, that he might ascertain whether 
there were persons in that neighborhood who 
sufficiently appreciated the word of God to be 
willing to pay for it ; but, that object having been 
accomplished, it was now his privilege, on his 
own personal responsibility, to place the hundred 
and seventy francs in the hands of the widow, to 
be distributed, in equal portions, to the three un- 
fortunate families whom they had mentioned as 
having recently lost their husbands and fathers 
by the caving in of a coal-pit. 

On hearing this, they together, spontaneously 
as it were, surrounded M. , and with tears 

* Five francs are nearly equal to one dollar. 



36 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (36 

streaming from their eyes, loaded him with their 
expressions of gratitude and their blessings, ren- 
dering it the most touching scene which M. 

ever witnessed. 

Amidst all these tokens of their christian affec- 
tion, M. was compelled to prepare for his de- 
parture, and imploring the richest of heaven's mer- 
cies upon them, bade them an affectionate farewell. 

The whole company followed him to the car- 
riage, and just as he had reached it, he once 
more addressed them, saying, " My dear friends, 
if any of you have not yet submitted yourselves 
to God, and are out of the ark of safety, I be- 
seech you f give not sleep to your eyes, nor slum- 
ber to your eye-lids,' until you flee to the Sa- 
viour. And those of you who have tasted that 
the Lord is gracious, live near to God, bear 
cheerfully the cross of your Eedeemer, follow 
on to know the Lord and do his will, and by his 
grace reigning in your hearts_, you shall come off 
conquerors, and more than conquerors !" 

When he had said this, and had again com- 
mended them to the God of all mercy through a 
crucified Redeemer, he drove off amid their 
prayers and blessings, to see them no more till 
that day when they shall meet in the kingdom 
of their Father, where sighs and farewells are 
sounds unknown, and where God shall wipe away 
all tears from every eye. 



37) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 37 

After M. 's return to Paris, he had the 

pleasure to learn from the widow that all the Bi- 
bles he had left with her were disposed of, and 
that many, in various directions from the village, 
were earnest to obtain them, but could not be 
supplied. In the meantime a deep interest in the 
spiritual welfare of these villagers had diffused 
itself beyond the limits of Paris, or even of 
France. The first sixteen pages of this Tract hav- 
ing found its way to England, had been published 
by the Religious Tract Society of London, and 
had obtained a very wide circulation. A parish 
in one of the interior towns of England had for- 
warded to M. twenty pounds sterling for the 

purchase of Bibles, to be presented to the widow 
for gratuitous distribution ; and a family of 
Friends from Wales, having read the narrative, 

visited M. at Paris, and proceeded thence 

to the Village in the Mountains, where they tar- 
ried no less than three weeks, assuring M. , 

on their return to Paris, that it had been the 
most interesting three weeks of their lives. 

As the proceeds of the twenty pounds, M. 

forwarded to the widow fifty Bibles and fifty 
Testaments, with a selection of several other 
choice books and Tracts. These Bibles, Testa- 
ments, and Tracts, were all actually disposed of 
in eight days, of which the widow gave early in- 
formation, accompanied by letters to M. 8 



38 THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. (38 

and to the benevolent donors in England, ex- 
pressing, in the most cordial manner, her grati- 
tude, and that of those who had thus been sup- 
plied with the word of life. She gave a particu- 
lar statement of the eagerness with which they 
had been read ; of their distribution in many - 
Catholic families, and the conversion of some to 
the truth as it is in Jesus. She informed that 
many individuals and families were still unsup- 
plied ; and for herself, and those around her, ex- 
pressed her thanksgivings to God for the won- 
ders of his love in inspiring the hearts of his 
children to unite their efforts in Bible and other 
benevolent institutions, and to contribute of their 
substance to extend to the destitute a knowledge 
of the Gospel. 

The last letter which M. received from 

the widow, before he left the country, contained 
two hundred francs, which she and her children 
had contributed as a donation, in acknowledg- 
ment of the Bibles and Testaments which he had, 
from time to time, forwarded. 

M. replied to her that it gave him more 

joy than to have received twenty thousand francs 
from another source, as it testified their attach- 
ment to the word of God. He returned her the 
full amount of their donation in Bibles, with two 
hundred and fifty Testaments from the Society, 
together with fifty from himself, as his last pres- 



39) THE VILLAGE IN THE MOUNTAINS. 39 

ent before his departure, and also six hundred 
Tracts and several other religious books. Point- 
ing out to her an esteemed friend in Paris, to 
whom, if further supplies should be needed, she 
might apply with assurance that her requests 
would be faithfully regarded, and exhorting her 
to remain steadfast in the faith, and to fix her 
eye always upon the Saviour, M. commend- 
ed her to God, in the fervent hope, that, through 
the unsearchable riches of his grace, he should 
hereafter meet her and her persecuted associates 
in that world where fr the wicked cease from 
troubling, and the weary are at rest." 

Note. — The original letters of the widow, in French, are 
deposited in. the archives of the American Tract Society. 



END. 



«>$rT2§M£#i2r 



OF 

PROM THE 

ROMISH CHURCH 

TO THE 

PROTESTANT FAITH. 

IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN. 



* 



TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. 



CONVERSION OF 
PETER BAYSSIERE 

IN A LETTER TO HIS CHILDREN.* 



My dear Children — I purpose to give you, m 
this letter, an account of my conversion to the 
true christian religion — that religion which was 
established by our Lord and his apostles, pro- 
fessed by their followers during the first two cen- 

* This Narrative was originally entitled, " A letter to 
my children, on the subject of my conversion from the Ro- 
mish church, in which I was born, to the Protestant, in 
which I hope to die. By Peter Bayssiere, Montaigut, De- 
partment Tarn and Garonne." (France.) " As much of 
the interest of this Narrative," says the preface to the Lon- 
don edition, " depends upon its authenticity, the reader is 
referred to the subjoined extract of a letter from the Rev. 
Francis Cunningham, Rector of Pakefield, dated May 20, 
1829, which will probably remove any doubts on the subject. 

" The autograph of Bayssiere's letter I saw when I 

was in the South of France, in the year 1826. It had just 
then been received by M. Audebez, the minister of Nerac ; 
who, as appears by the Tract, was well acquainted both 
with Bayssiere and his circumstances. Confident of the 
genuineness of the account, I am very glad it has been pub- 
lished in French, and translated into English, ft cannot 
but be interesting and profitable to all lovers of the truth. 

"Francis Cunningham." 



4 CONVERSION OF (-±4 

turies of the church, and which is now followed 
by the protestant or reformed christians. I am 
conscious that neither my abilities nor my edu- 
cation qualify me for this task. A mere mechanic, 
and possessing but few advantages of education, 
I find it very difficult to express, as I could wish, 
the thoughts and feelings which crowd upon my 
mind. But how great and numerous soever may 
be the difficulties which I must encounter in such 
an undertaking, I am impelled to it by the tender 
affection I bear you, and by the earnest desire 
and hope of being useful to you. May God be 
my helper \ may he not suffer me to be deterred 
by any obstacle ; and may he grant me the bless- 
ing of accomplishing that which I consider as a 
sacred duty. 

It is my imperative duty to make you acquaint- 
ed with the real motives which have produced 
the most important, solemn, and decisive step in 
my life. 

It is my duty to give glory to God for the un- 
speakable mercy which he has deigned to show 
me, in calling me from darkness into his marvel- 
lous light ; in opening to me the treasures of his 
infinite compassion, and in giving me the hope 
of salvation by faith in his Son, who only w has 
the words of eternal life," being alone " the way, 
the truth, and the life." 

It is my duty to endeavor to render my expe- 



45) PETER BAYSSIERE. 5 

rience profitable to you, to show you the path by 
which it has pleased God to lead me to truth, and 
to the fountain of living waters 5 and, above all 
to labor in prayer for you, that you may be par 
takers of the peace and joy with which my spi 
rit is filled under the influence of his blessed word 

May this paper, my dear children, by the bless 
ing of God, contribute to the triumph of the 
Gospel, and to the glory of our great God and 
Saviour Jesus Christ, by filling your hearts with 
the love of truth, and by leading you in the way 
of true religion. 

It was in the thirty-third year of my age, in 
the present year, (1826,) that I openly embraced 
and professed the Protestant religion, after hav- 
ing given it the most serious and attentive ex- 
amination, and being convinced that it was in- 
deed the true religion of Christ, agreeable, in 
every respect, to the revelations of his Gospel. 

Like you, my dear children, I was born in the 
Romish church ; but birth has, in fact, very little 
to do with religion ; the utmost that it can effect 
is to predispose the mind, or to serve as a pre- 
text to timid, interested, or indifferent persons, to 
justify their external adherence to a form of wor- 
ship in which their hearts do not unite. 

As our Saviour declares to his disciple Peter, 
it is not flesh or blood that can make known to 
us the true God, the Creator, Preserver, and Sa- 



6 CONVERSION OF (46 

viour of men. Faith, through which alone we 
can become children of God, and true members 
of the church of Christ, is a gift of the Holy- 
Spirit, and' by no means transmitted to us with 
our existence by our parents. St. John teaches 
us this when he says, M As many as received him, 
to them gave he power to become the sons of 
God, even to them that believe on his name : 
which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of 
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." 
John, 1 : 12, 13. 

Thus you see that we are neither Catholics nor 
Protestants by birth ; and it is a great error for 
any one to feel himself bound to either church, 
because he has been born within its pale. Re- 
ligion, like every thing else, must be studied and 
examined; and no one is truly a member of a 
church, further than as he understands and ac- 
knowledges its doctrines. His adherence on any 
other ground only proves him credulous, igno- 
rant, and superstitious ; the slave of prejudice 
and habit. 

As for me, my children, although born in the 
Romish church, I can assure you that I never 
participated in its belief. It would be foreign to 
the end I have in view, to relate here the various 
circumstances of my childhood and youth, which 
preserved me from being brought into the bosom 
of the Catholic church by the usual rites and 



4/7) PETER BAYSSIERE. 7 

ceremonies. God so ordered it, that I made no 
vow by which / might* have afterwards felt my- 
self bound to the church of Rome. 

Unknown to me, that is, at an age when I could 
have no idea of what was done to me, I was doubt- 
less received into the church by the usual cere- 
mony j but as this act was performed without any 
consent or co-operation on my part, I have never 
regarded it in the light of an engagement to the 
Catholic church. 

With regard to what is called " the first com- 
munion," (which is considered as the public 
ratification and confirmation of the vow of my 
parents,) this I never received in the Romish 

* "I might have" &c. but I am far from supposing that I 
ought to have felt myself indissolubly tied to the Roman 
Catholic church by any sacrament that I might have re- 
ceived, or by any engagement that I might have entered 
into : on the contrary, I lay it down as an incontestible prin- 
ciple, that every vow and every oath are null, and neither 
can nor ought to bind any one to a church in which he has 
discovered errors, or doctrines and habits opposed to the 
word of God, and contrary to his own conscience. Truth 
alone, and the full conviction of truth, constitute a tie which 
can inviolably connect us with any church whatever. From 
the moment that this conviction no longer exists, and that 
error is discovered, it is an imperative duty to abandon a 
mode of worship which does not accord with our true sen- 
timents ; and he who perseveres against this conviction be- 
comes a hypocrite, contemptible in the eyes of men, and 
condemned before God. 



8 CONVERSION OF (48 

church, nor did I receive what is called the Sa- 
crament of confirmation. 

Before I could be united by the sacred bond 
of marriage to your virtuous and beloved mother, 
it was necessary that I should confess. This I 
did with extreme reluctance, feeling that nothing 
could be at once more absurd, more tyrannical, 
or more degrading, than to oblige a man to pros- 
trate himself at the feet of a priest, a mortal, a 
sinner, a child of corruption like himself, and 
there to make confessions to him, which offended 
Deity alone could have a right to require ; and to 
receive absolution from him for faults with which 
he had no concern. I could not, however, marry 
without confession, and therefore I was obliged 
to submit ] but no power on earth could have 
constrained me to go further. The Sacrament, 
as the Roman Catholics receive it, had, from in- 
fancy, excited in me feelings of disgust. My 
mind had always revolted at the idea, that the 
great God of heaven could allow himself to be 
eaten by his creatures in the form of a little flour. 
Under various pretences, therefore, I contrived 
to avoid the ceremony, and obtained the nuptial 
benediction without it. 

The Lord, who never leaves himself without 
the witness of his numerous mercies to us, even 
when we are offending him in so many ways, was 
pleased to bless our marriage. Your birth, my 



49) PETER BAYSSIERE. 1) 

dear children, crowned our joy, and left us no- 
thing to wish but to see you grow and prosper, 
and to devote ourselves to your happiness. Alas! 
little did we suspect, whilst thus delightfully en 
gaged, that this joy was to be so soon disturbed, 
and that death would deprive us of her who had 
given you birth. But our great God, whose ways 
and whose designs, though often inscrutable, are 
always full of wisdom, saw good to separate us ; 
you from a tender and excellent mother, and 
me from a beloved companion and inestimable 
friend. She died February 11, 1821, after a few 
days' illness, leaving me in a statu of affliction 
which it would be in vain to attempt to de- 
scribe. 

Nevertheless, terrible as was the stroke, and 
heart-rending as was the separation, I can now 
acknowledge, my children, that it was a salutary 
chastisement, sent by sovereign love ; and one of 
the links of that chain of Providence by which 
the Lord saw good to deliver me from the mise- 
rable state in which I was then living ; and to lead 
me to the fountain of grace and true peace. 

In fact, the death of your poor mother gave 
rise to a train of circumstances, which, by draw- 
ing my attention to subjects that I had hitherto 
totally disregarded, and by exciting in my mind 
a degree of energy of which I could not have 
supposed myself capable, ended by engaging me 

Vi!. in Moun. 4 



10 CONVERSION OF (GO 

most unexpectedly in the serious study of re- 
ligion. The particulars I am about to give you 
respecting these things, will convince you that 
God can overrule the wickedness of men for 
good, and will show you that a Eomish priest 
was the means of directing me to the way, (I 
mean the perusal and free examination of the 
word of God,) which led me, eventually, to the 
Protestant church. 

Your mother's funeral was conducted with Ca- 
tholic ceremonies, and, according to my means, 
I spared nothing to honor her remains. I like- 
wise consented, either from conformity to cus- 
tom, or from a wish to please my relatives, who 
were influenced by the fear of purgatory, or per- 
haps from participating myself in the false notion 
that bought prayers can mitigate the sufferings 
of the dead — from one or all of these causes, ag- 
gravated by the sorrow which filled my heart and 
inflamed my imagination, I consented to the per- 
formance of the nine customary masses for the 
rest of the soul. 

The priest to whom I first went, told me that 
he was too busy to undertake the whole, but that 
I might depend upon him for three. From him 
I went to another, who engaged to say the re- 
maining six, and did so without delay. Sunday 
after Sunday, for a considerable time, I went to 
the first, to inquire whether my three masses 



51) PETER BAYSSIERE. 11 

would be said in the following week. He always 
found some excuse, saying that " there were others 
more urgent than myself — that he was previously 
engaged — that he had undertaken more than was 
in his power to perform," &c. From February to 
June, I was thus put off under various pretexts. 
Worn out, at length, by so many fruitless efforts, 
I resolved to put an end to them, and mentioned 
the subject to your aunt, your mother's sister, 
expressing to her my extreme annoyance. She 
asked me if I had offered the priest the amount 
of the masses which he had promised to say ? 
"No," I said, "the idea never occurred to me: 
but even if it had, I should not have dared to do 
it, for fear of offending him. It is not usual," I 
added scornfully, " to pay before one is served. 
No one ever pays me for a saddle before I make 
it." "No matter," replied your aunt, "my advice 
to you is to return to the priest, and offer to pay 
for the masses which you have ordered." 

I did as she advised me, and this time my re- 
quest was favorably received. The priest seized 
the six-franc piece which I laid on the table, 
looked at me and said, "Do you wish me to say 
sixl" "No," I replied, with a feeling of indigna- 
tion which I could hardly repress — "No, sir, I 
only want three. Return to me the rest of the 
money; poor folks cannot afford to spend so 
much at once." 



12 CONVERSION OF (52 

I left the priest, thoroughly ashamed of having 
contributed to gratify his cupidity, and very much 
disposed to think the religion we were taught was 
nothing but a tissue of fables and impostures, to 
which the thirst of gold and silver had given 
birth. I cannot tell you all the sad and painful 
reflections that occupied my mind during the 
remainder of that day ; I was overcome by them, 
and rejoiced to see the night, hoping to find relief 
in sleep. I went to bed, but could not close my 
eyes. Still haunted by the remembrance of what 
had so disgusted me, a multitude of thoughts 
crowded on my imagination. I knew that the 
priests claimed the word of God as their autho- 
rity for all their doctrines and ceremonies, which 
word I also knew was contained in the Old and 
New Testaments, although, to my misfortune, I 
did not then regard them as a divine revelation. 
In fact, I believed no more in the Holy Bible as 
the word of God, than I did in the doctrine of pur- 
gatory; still I felt a desire to search and to as- 
certain whether this lucrative doctrine was con- 
tained in the Gospel, and in what manner it was 
there established: at the same moment I recol- 
lected that there was, on the chimney-piece of 
my room, a New Testament, in which I had 
learnt to read, but which I had never opened 
since I was nine or ten years old. I jumped out 
of bed, and hastily dressing myself, resolved to 



53) PETER BAYSSIERE. 13 

begin, without delay, my researches on the sub- 
ject of purgatory. 

With this sole object in view, I read through 
the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epis- 
tles, and the Revelation of St. John 5 confining 
my attention exclusively to those points that 
tended either to establish or controvert chis doc- 
trine. This perusal of the New Testament, which, 
from my eagerness to satisfy my curiosity and 
resolve my doubts, I accomplished without once 
stopping, except for refreshment, proved to me 
that the doctrine of purgatory was not to be 
found in the Gospel, but must have been derived 
from some other source. 

Indeed, my dear children, I did not find a sin- 
gle passage which established it, either directly 
or indirectly: on the contrary, I was struck with 
many declarations completely opposed to it. 
Thus I read in St. Matthew: "The wicked shall 
go away into everlasting punishment, but the 
righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25 : 46. This 
absolutely destroys the idea of any intermediate 
abode between heaven and hell. 

I read the song of Simeon, by which it clearly 
appears that the good old man had no idea that 
he was to stop in the road to heaven, or that he 
would have to undergo any purging fire before 
he could get there ; for he exclaims, holding the 
infant Jesus in his arms, "Lord, now lettest thou 



14 CONVERSION OF (54 

thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have 
seen thy salvation." &c. Luke, 2 : 29, 30. 

I read the promises which Jesus made to the 
thief on the cross, when he said to him, " Lord, 
remember me when thou comest into thy king- 
dom." Luke, 23 : 42, 43. If there were such a 
place as purgatory, and if any one were likely 
to be subjected to its fires, surely it would have 
been this malefactor, condemned by human laws, 
and probably guilty of many crimes: yet our Sa- 
viour replies, " Verily, I say unto thee, to-day 
thou shalt be with me in Paradise." 

I read in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, 
that " there is now no condemnation to them 
which are in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8 : 1. A doc- 
trine altogether opposed to that of purgatory, 
which teaches that christians are, after this life, 
subjected to a process of torments before they 
are free from condemnation. 

I read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that "it 
is appointed to men once to die, but after this 
the judgment," Heb. 9 : 27, which clearly proves 
that the destiny, both of the bad and good, is irre- 
vocably fixed from the moment of their death; and 
that there is no purgatory, from which masses, 
prayers, cr rather gold and silver, can deliver 
any one. 

I read also in the first Epistle of St. John, that 
"the blood of Jesus Christ," the Son of God, 



55) PETER BAYSSIERE. 15 

tr cleanseth us from all sin," 1 John, 1 : 7, which 
excludes all other kinds of purification, and for- 
mally contradicts the doctrine of purgatory. 
Finally, I read in the hook of Revelation, that 
"blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, 
from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they 
may rest from their labors, and their works do 
follow them." 

Here is another declaration which confirms 
what the preceding and many other passages 
establish in so convincing a manner. Not having 
discovered a single text of the New Testament 
which told in favor of purgatory ; but, on the con- 
trary, having observed and meditated on those 
which I have quoted, and many other equally 
opposed to this doctrine, I was fully persuaded 
that it never had been thought of by the writers 
of the Gospel. You may easily believe, my dear 
children, that this discovery in no way tended 
to strengthen the bonds which held me to the 
Romish church, nor to confirm me in their faith. 

Still, however, I was dissatisfied, and still longed 
to know positively f?*om whence the priests had de- 
rived their vain system. This desire filled my 
mind for some days, and at last it struck me that 
the Pope must have been the inventor of it. I ' 
then naturally began to wish to discover who the 
Pope was, and what right he had to impose such 
a doctrine. I had often read and heard, both in 



16 CONVERSION OF (56 

conversation and from the pulpit, that St. Peter 
was the chief and head of the Apostles ; that he 
had been the first pope at Rome; and that all 
succeeding popes had inherited his rights and 
prerogatives. 

I conceived a wish to know what the New 
Testament said upon this subject, and I immedi- 
ately undertook a second perusal of it ; in the 
same state of mind as before, that is to say, ab- 
sorbed by one sole object, and having nothing in 
view but to find out whether St. Peter had really 
been set over all the other apostles, and placed 
at Rome as head of all the churches. 

This examination, which was pursued with a 
degree of attention of which I should now be 
scarcely capable, ended in convincing me that 
the supremacy of St. Peter was no better estab- 
lished by the New Testament than the first doc- 
trine which I had sought for, and that undoubt- 
edly the papacy was without scriptural authority. 

I found in St. Matthew the calling of Simon, 
who was afterwards called Peter; Matt. 4 : 18, 
19, 20 ; but it did not appear to me to differ from 
that addressed to Andrew his brother, and all the 
other apostles. 

In the tenth chapter of the same Gospel, I also 
observed that the first mission which Jesus Christ 
gave to his apostles, was given to all, without 
any particular prerogative to Peter. It is true 



57) PETER BAYSSIERE. 17 

that Peter is the first named, but this is merely 
an accidental priority, which implies neither dis- 
tinction nor superiority ; one must have been 
mentioned first. I made the same observation 
on the last mission which they received on the 
day of their Master's ascension, and which is re- 
lated by St Matthew, 28 : 19, 20 ; by St. Mark, 
16 : 15 i and in the Acts of the Apostles, 1 : 8. 
This mission, though variously expressed in the 
three places, is the same in substance. It is given 
indiscriminately to all $ the promises by which it 
is accompanied are for all ; and on all, the same 
powers are equally conferred. 

The 18th and 19th verses of chapter 16 of St. 
Matthew, where it is said, " Thou art Peter, and 
on this rock I will build my church," startled me 
for a moment, and I was on the point of mis- 
taking the true meaning of this declaration. But 
having reflected that Jesus Christ asked the ques- 
tion in the 15th verse, of all his disciples, and 
that Peter expressed the sentiment of all in his 
animated reply in the 16th verse, I considered 
that the words which Christ addressed to Peter, 
were applicable to all disciples $ and that no su- 
premacy could be attributed to him from this 
passage, more than from any of the preceding. 

I was confirmed in this opinion, when I read 
in the Gospel of St. John, that Jesus, speaking 
to all, had made them nearly the same promise : 



18 CONVERSION OF (58 

" Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted 
unto them, and whose soever sins ye retain, they 
are retained," (John, 20 : 23 ;) and also by what 
St. Paul says to the Ephesians, " Ye are built 
upon the foundation of the apostles and pro- 
phets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cor- 
ner-stone ; in whom all the building, fitly framed 
together, groweth unto an holy temple in the 
Lord." Ephes. 2 : 20, 21. 

I was still more strengthened, when I found 
in the Revelation, that St. John says, "the wall 
of the city had twelve foundations, and in them 
the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." 
Rev. 21 : 14. 

By these passages, and many others which I 
think it unnecessary to quote, I discerned that 
Jesus Christ is the true foundation, the corner 
stone on which the christian church rests: that 
all the apostles and prophets are indeed men- 
tioned as its foundation, but only because all 
their doctrines refer to Him ; and I was con- 
vinced that St. Peter was in no degree more dis- 
tinguished or more elevated than his fellow-la- 
borers. Although I did not then understand, at 
least not so fully as I do now, the evangelical 
meaning of the 18th and 19th verses of chapter 
16 of St. Matthew, yet I was persuaded that the 
papacy or sovereignty of St. Peter could not 
reasonably be deduced from them. 



59) PETER BAYSSIERE. 19 

Finally my conviction that St. Peter was not 
above the other apostles, was completed by ob- 
serving- what he says himself in his first epistle, 
rr The elders which are among you I exhort, who 
am also an elder" 1 Pet. 5:1; by what St. Paul 
says to the Corinthians, " I was not a whit be- 
hind the very chiefest apostles," 2 Cor. 11 : 5; 
by noticing- that St. Paul, according to his own 
account, "withstood him to the face, because he 
was to be blamed;" Gal. 2 : 11; and that he 
severely and publicly reprehended him, because 
"he constrained the Gentiles to be circumcised;" 
by seeing how the common disciples of the 
church of Jerusalem made no scruple of reprov- 
ing Peter, because "he went in unto men un- 
circumcised, and did eat with them," Acts, 
11 : 3; how they required from him an explana- 
tion of his conduct, and how the apostle hastened 
to justify himself, by relating to them exactly 
how the thing had happened. Finally, by ob- 
serving that " when the apostles which were at 
Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the 
word of God, they sent unto them Peter and 
John." Acts, 8 : 14. 

rt There can be no doubt," thought I, as I pe- 
rused and re-perused all these testimonies, "that 
Peter was in every respect equal to the other 
apostles; that he had no superiority nor juris- 
diction over them. Had he been, had he thought 



20 



CONVERSION OF 



(60 



himself, or had others thought him, the prince of 
the apostles and sovereign pastor of the church, 
would he have called himself an elder like unto 
the other elders 1 Is it possible that St. Paul 
would have declared himself to be ? not a whit 
behind him;' that he would have * withstood him 
to his face, 5 and blamed him publicly 1 Is it pro- 
bable that mere believers, common members of 
the church, should have ventured to dispute with 
him, to require an explanation of his conduct, or 
that he should have thought it necessary to sa- 
tisfy them by giving one 1 * Is it likely that he 
would have been sent by the other apostles, or 
have received their orders, when it would have 
been his part, had he been their chief, to com- 
mand and to send them 1" 

I needed no more evidence to be thoroughly 
convinced that all which is taught by the Romish 
church of the supremacy of St. Peter, and of the 
sovereignty of the popes, his pretended succes- 
sors, was a fable destitute of the slightest foun- 
dation ; at all events, a doctrine no more to be 
found in the Gospel than that of purgatory. 

If I were surprised at this, I was no less so 
when I observed, that in the whole New Testa- 
ment there was not one word which gave reason 

* The popes, his pretended successors, have not been so 
obliging; they have been always solicitous to make theii 
authority felt. 



61) PETER BAYSSIERE. 21 

to imagine that St. Peter had ever preached, or had 
even ever been, at Rome, where the Roman Ca- 
tholics assert, and believe as an article of faith, 
that he was the first pope. The Acts of the 
Apostles maintains the most profound silence on 
this subject, and affords no ground whatever for 
the supposition. All the Epistles leave it equally 
in darkness. Those of St. Paul to the Galatians, 
to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Co- 
lossians, the second to Timothy, and the Epistle 
to Philemon, all written from Rome at different 
periods, and that to the Hebrews, written from 
Italy, make no mention of Peter's being there. 
In the last four, the apostle speaks of his com- 
panions in suffering, in labor, and in the work of 
the Lord, but says not a word of Peter as being 
with him. Undoubtedly he would have men- 
tioned him, as he mentions Tychicus, Onesimus, 
Aristarchus, Demas, Prudens, Livius, Claudia, &c. 
had he been at Rome 5 but neither his name, nor 
any allusion to his abode in the capital of the 
world, is to be discovered in any part of St. 
Paul's Epistles. In my opinion,. there is no proof 
of his ever having been there, much less of his 
having held the bishopric. Finally, his own two 
Epistles furnish no evidence for such a supposi- 
tion : the first, and in all probability, the second 
also, is written from Babylon, 1 Peter, 5 : 13 
and addressed, not to the Romans, but M to the 



22 CONVERSION OF (62 

strangers (that is to say, the converted Jews) 
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappado- 
cia, Asia, and Bithynia," 1 Peter, 1 : 1, coun- 
tries where, it would appear, that he exercised 
his ministry, after having for some years preach- 
ed to the church at Antioch. 

Thus, my children, I discovered that these two 
primary doctrines of the Romish church, viz. 
purgatory and the supremacy of St. Peter, had 
not, at any rate, been inculcated by the writers 
of the Gospel. I cannot tell you what interest I 
felt in the new ideas I had acquired. The New 
Testament, which I was still far from regarding 
as a divine revelation, appeared to me a collec- 
tion of precious documents, in whose authority 
I then began to feel some degree of confidence. 
Though I found this study novel and difficult to 
a poor uneducated artizan like myself, it was at 
the same time so attractive to me, that I was in- 
duced to continue my researches. 

I have already mentioned to you, my dear 
children, the invincible repugnance which I had 
always felt to receiving the sacrament as admin- 
istered in the Romish church. I have said that 
nothing in the world could have forced me to 
this act, by which it is profanely pretended that 
the creature eats his Creator I ! I could never 
even think of it without shuddering. This doc- 
trine, which asserts that Jesus Christ is present, 



63) PETER BAYSSIERE. 23 

in body and in spirit, in the consecrated wafer, 
and that every communicant is actually nourish- 
ed by his flesh and blood, is, of all the tenets of 
popery, that which contributed the most to alien- 
ate me from the christian religion, to which I at- 
tached it, and to drive me to infidelity. 

This, therefore, now attracted all my attention ; 
and again I began to read the New Testament, 
entirely occupied, as previously, by the one ob- 
ject which I had in view. 

I found nothing in the three Gospels of St. 
Matthew, St. Mark, or St. Luke, which gave me 
the least reason to suppose that their author had 
recognized the real and corporeal presence of 
Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the holy sup- 
per. The words of the institution, as related by 
the first, Matt. 26 : 26, 27, 28, by the second, 
Mark, 14 : 22, 23, 24, and by the third, Luke, 
22 : 19, 20, reported with slight variations by 
the three Evangelists, and which I took great 
pains to collate and compare, conveyed no other 
idea than that of a commemorative ceremony, de- 
signed to preserve and call to remembrance the 
sufferings, the passion, and the death of Christ. 
In my then wretched condition of unbelief, the 
magnitude, the sanctity, and the power of the 
sacrament did not strike my mind ; but, except- 
ing that, I imbibed from the consideration of 
these passages the views which I still hold. So 



2'i CONVERSION OF (64 

far, then, I had not discovered the doctrine of 
the real presence ; but I thought I hod indeed 
found it specifically established when I read these 
words : " I am the living bread which came down 
from heaven : if any man eat of this bread, he 
shall live for ever ; and the tread that I will gfive 
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the 
world. The Jews, therefore, strove among them- 
selves, saying, How can this man give his flesh 
to eat X Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, ve- 
rily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of 
the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no 
life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh 
my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him 
up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, 
and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my 
flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and 
I in him." John, 6 : 51-56. These words ap- 
peared to me to be undoubtedly the foundation 
of the Romish faith on this head. I even thought 
that the writer of them had the establishment of 
this doctrine especially in view. At that moment 
I was tempted to stop, and to carry no further 
my researches on a doctrine which I thought I 
had found clearly set forth, but the absurdity of 
which had never appeared to me so palpable. I 
then felt an utter disgust towards the Gospel ; 
nevertheless, internally spurred on by an invisi- 
ble power, which was then unknown to me, but 



65) PETER BAYSSIERE. 25 

which I now recognize to have been the Holy- 
Spirit, the author of all divine revelation ; and 
attracted, as it were, in spite of myself, by the 
Spirit of God, who graciously purposed to teach 
me to appreciate, and in time to receive, the 
truth of his word, I resumed my New Testament, 
which I had for a moment thrown aside, and re- 
commencing the perusal of the sixth chapter of 
St. John, I read it to the end, which I had not 
done before. 

When I reached the sixty-third verse, I was 
struck as by a flash of light, which instantane- 
ously discovered to me the mistake that I had at 
first made in the meaning of the six verses trans- 
cribed above, and imparted a new value to the 
Gospel. When I read " It is the Spirit that quick- 
eneth, the flesh profiteth nothing — the words that 
I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are 
Life," John, 6 : 63, I had, as it were, the key 
of the chapter, and no longer discerned in it the 
doctrine of the real presence. I perceived that 
it in no way referred to swallowing and digest- 
ing, with our corporeal organs, the body and 
blood of Christ : I saw that the expressions of 
eating and drinking were used figuratively, and 
that they really signified nothing but knowing 
Christ, coming to him, and believing in him, as 
it is explained in the thirty-fifth verse of the same 
chapter, where Jesus Christ says, " I am the bread 

Vi\. in Moun. 5 



26 CONVERSION OF (66 

of life ; he that cometh to me shall never hunger, 
and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." 

It was, then, as clear to me as the day, that 
Jesus Christ used the terms eating and drinking 
only in a spiritual manner ; and (as I now under- 
stand them) as referring to that faith, which, 
while it is living and active in our hearts, unites 
us to him in an inexplicable manner, and clothes 
us in his merits at the same time that it purines 
and sanctifies our views, our sentiments, and oar 
desires. After having thus discovered my error, 
I found myself more than ever inclined to per- 
severe in my reading, and to search and see whe- 
ther the doctrine of the real presence would not 
be better established in the subsequent parts of 
the book. The further I advanced, my dear 
children, the more reason I had to be convinced 
that neither Jesus nor his apostles ever intended 
to convey such an idea. I should be too tedious 
were I to point out to you all the passages which 
I found expressly contradictory to this revolting 
tenet ; it will be sufficient to quote a few. 

I found in the Acts, that the apostles saw Je- 
sus Christ ascend on high, carried upward by a 
cloud which concealed him from their sight, and 
that two angels appeared and said unto them, 
" Men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into 
heaven 1 This same Jesus which is taken up from 
you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as 



67) PETER BAYSSIERE. 27 

ye have seen him go into heaven." Acts, 1 : 9, 11. 
" There never was a priest," said I, " there 
never was a Roman Catholic, administering or 
receiving the sacrament, that ever saw Christ 
descending from heaven, in this manner, to enter 
into the bread. Nevertheless, the angels declar- 
ed that he should descend from heaven in the 
same manner as he went up into heaven." 

I found, in the same hook, " that the heavens 
must receive Jesus Christ till the time of the 
restitution of all things." Acts, 3 : 21. rr He is 
then," said I, r< no longer corporeally on the 
earth." I found, in the Epistle to the Colossians, 
that " Christ sitteth on the right hand of God $" 
chap. 3:1; from whence I drew the inference 
that he certainly cannot be actually present on 
so many altars, or in so great a number of wa- 
fers, as the doctrine of the real presence neces- 
sarily supposes. 

I found, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chap- 
ters 9 and 10, the strongest declarations, not only 
against the real presence, but against the whole 
system of the mass, by which it is pretended 
daily to renew the passion and sacrifice of our 
Saviour. When the apostle says that ft Christ is 
entered into heaven itself ;" Heb. 9 : 24 ; when 
he says that " unto them that look for him shall 
he appear the second time without sin unto sal- 
vation ;" ver. 28 ; lastly, when he says it is the 



28 CONVERSION CF (68 

will of God to sanctify us " through the offering 
of the body of Jesus Christ once made," chap. 
10 : 10, and that " this man, after he had offered 
one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down at the 
right hand of God," ver. 12, having " by one 
offering perfected for ever them that are sancti- 
fied," ver. 14, it appeared to me to prove, with 
the most unanswerable evidence, that the doctrine 
of the real presence, and all connected with it, 
was as far removed from the creed of the apos- 
tle as the east is from the west, or as heaven 
from hell." 

Finally, my dear children, the very words of 
the institution of the Lord's Supper, related by 
St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11, and to which I paid particu- 
lar and repeated attention, did not leave a shadow 
of doubt on my mind that the doctrine of the 
Romish church, on the subject of the Eucharist, 
is utterly devoid of any foundation in the Gos- 
pel, and must, consequently, have been derived 
from some other source. In fact, all that our Sa- 
viour says on the occasion of instituting the 
Lord's Supper, clearly shows that it was a memo- 
rial of himself which he established, and which 
he wished to leave behind him. After having 
taken, blessed, and broken the bread, he com- 
mands that it should be eaten in remembrance of 
him. Having given them the cup to drink, he 
adds, " This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in re- 



69) PETER BAYSSIERE. 29 

membrance of me." The words, " this is my 
body — this cup is the New Testament in my 
blood," appeared to me only what they really 
are, figurative expressions, signifying that the 
bread represented his body, and the wine his 
blood. These words do in no degree change or 
modify the principal idea, that of commemoration, 
which runs throughout this action of our Lord. 
Had it even been possible that these words 
had deceived me ; had I taken them in their lite- 
ral meaning, I should soon have been undeceived 
by those which immediately follow, which in 
themselves utterly overthrow the doctrine of the 
real presence, and the whole system of the mass. 
These are the words: "As often as ye eat this 
bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's 
death till he corned 1 Cor. 11 : 26. After this 
declaration, connected with so many others, what 
further proof was wanting that St. Paul never 
believed that the bread and wine contained the 
actual body of Christ % I clearly saw that in this 
passage he meant that it is really bread we eat, 
and wine we drink, in the sacrament, and not the 
actual body and blood of the Son of God. I per- 
ceived that he taught that the Lord is not actu- 
ally present in that ceremony according to the 
sense of the Romish church, because he distinctly 
says, " that by participating in it, we do show the 
Lord's death till he come" 



30 CONVERSION OF (70 

In short, I was convinced that, according to 
St. Paul, it is not the body and blood of Jesus 
Christ that the priests hold in their hands, and 
which they offer as a sacrifice in the mass. 

Here, my children, I suspended my researches, 
convinced, as much as it is possible to be con- 
vinced of any thing, that the doctrine of transub-" 
stantiation is not to be found in the New Testa- 
ment. I concluded that it must have the same 
origin as those of the papacy and of purgatory. 

Diverted as I had been from my usual occupa- 
tion, during the time that I had thus devoted to 
study and meditation; obliged to maintain myself 
and you by the sweat of my brow, and having no 
other immediate subject of perplexity, I returned 
to my daily labor, and discontinued the perusal 
of the Gospel. My New Testament had certainly 
gained much in my esteem; but without stopping 
to consider exactly in what way I valued it, I 
think I may say that it was not as containing the 
Word of God, and the knowledge which is unto 
salvation. 

Thus not being really or heartily interested in 
it, I replaced it a second time on the spot it had 
so long occupied on the chimney-piece of my 
room, and eighteen months or two years passed 
without my thinking of consulting it anew. 

During this period I married again: your ten- 
der age, and the care you required, which my 



71) PETER BAYSSIERE. 31 

business and absence prevented my giving you, 
were the motives which induced me to take this 
step. God in his fatherly kindness mercifully di- 
rected my choice, though I had never thought of 
asking him to do so ; and you have found a se- 
cond mother in her who has ever been to me the 
most estimable and best of friends. During this 
period also, I thought more of religion than ever 
before. Though I had read the Gospel only to 
satisfy my curiosity on the three points of doc- 
trine that I have mentioned, and although my 
attention had been exclusively directed to these 
points, it is probable, notwithstanding, that I had 
almost unconsciously imbibed some of the im- 
pressions which the word of God is calculated 
to produce, and that even then I was in some 
measure under its secret influence. One thing I 
am sure of, that from that time some idea of re- 
ligion, although then comparatively vague and 
confused, never left me ; I frequently caught my- 
self musing on the origin of the universe, on the 
vicissitudes of nature, and on the future condi- 
tion of those numerous beings, who are seen for 
a short time on the earth and then disappear. 
My own destiny, also, frequently engaged my 
thoughts. But I was far from referring it to Him, 
on whom I now see that it entirely depends. In 
all these thoughts God was excluded from the 
place he ought to have held. With nothing but 



32 CONVERSION OF (72 

false and uncertain notions of him, I was far in- 
deed from regarding him as the vivifying princi- 
ple, which, to the eye of the christian, animates 
and embellishes every thing, and as that pure 
light " which lighteth every man that cometh 
into the world." 

I am bound to tell you, my children, what was 
the real state of my soul at that time. I was in 
so deplorable a condition of blindness and igno- 
rance, that sometimes I thought there was no 
God, but that he was an imaginary being; and 
sometimes confounding him with the works of 
his almighty hands, I attributed divinity to the 
material world. " The fool hath said in his heart, 
there is no God," and I dare not deny that these 
words of David were for a long time, and even 
perhaps at the period of which I am speaking, 
applicable to me. But while I acknowledge that 
the natural corruption of my heart, and the bad 
books I had read, were in part the causes of the 
sad state I have described, I cannot help also at- 
tributing the greatest part of them to the abuses, 
the superstition, and the errors which disfigure 
Christianity in the Romish church, and which 
had so disgusted me that they had driven me 
into total infidelity. 

Such, then, being in fact my religious state, 
you may well believe, my children, that I was 
not happy; for it is impossible to be so without 



73) PETER BAYSSIERE. 33 

trusting in God, who is the source of supreme 
good and true peace. I was assiduous in my oc- 
cupation; I frequented the society of my friends ; 
but, my heart empty and incessantly craving after 
something which I could not obtain, was never 
content. My mind, restless and agitated, could no 
where find an object to fix and satisfy it. Listless- 
ness followed me every where, and seemed to in- 
crease upon me. how unhappy, and how piti- 
able are those, who are, as I was then, without 
God, without Christ, without hope in the world! 
I was in this wretched state when it pleased 
God to have pity upon me, and to cause a ray 
of light to penetrate my mind. One evening, 
after the labors of the day, instead of going as 
usual to the club which I frequented, I went 
alone upon the public walk, where I remained 
till the night was far advanced: the moon shone 
clear and bright : I had never before been so 
struck by the magnificence of the heavens, and 
I felt unusually disposed to reflection. "No," I 
said, (after contemplating for a long time the 
impressive scene before me,) " no, nature is not 
God," (for till then I had entertained this opin- 
ion,) " God is certainly distinct from nature: in 
all this I can only recognise a work replete with 
harmony, order, and beauty. Although I cannot 
perceive the Author, whose power, intelligence, 
and wisdom are every where so strongly im- 



34 CONVERSION OF (74 

printed on it; still, both my reason and my feel- 
ing combine to convince me of his existence." 

This conclusion, which I sincerely adopted, 
was the result of the reflections in which I had 
been that evening- absorbed. 

Some days after this, the examination of a 
watch, its springs, its various wheels, and its 
motions, brought me afresh to the same conclu- 
sion, and for ever confirmed me in the belief of 
a God, the Creator of all things. If this watch, 
I argued, could not make itself, and necessarily 
leads us to suppose an artist who made each 
part, and so arranged the whole as to produce 
these movements — how much stronger reasons 
have we for concluding that the universe has a 
Contriver and Maker 1" 

I was no sooner fully satisfied of the existence 
of a God, than I trembled at the thought of his 
attributes, and my relationship to him. The 
sense of my unworthiness and sinfulness deeply 
affected me. When I called to mind the many 
years I had passed in forgetfulness of this great 
God; in indifference to, or in a culpable unbe- 
lief of his existence ; I felt that I must indeed be, 
in his sight, the most ungrateful, and the most 
sinful of his creatures. My next feeling was an 
anxious desire to amend my conduct, and I de- 
termined to lay down such a plan for my future 
life, as I hoped might not be unworthy of that 



75) PETER BAYSSIERE. 35 

Being whose eye I then felt was upon me. After 
having made many efforts to recall the best max- 
ims of wisdom and rules of virtue that I had met 
with in the course of my reading, I at length 
came to a resolution of examining what moral 
precepts the New Testament might contain, and 
whether it might not afford me the rules I was 
seeking for the regulation of my conduct. 

This was the motive which brought me again 
to the New Testament, and induced me to under- 
take a fourth time the perusal of it. I wish it 
were in my power to recount to you, my dear 
children, all the effects that the eternal word of 
God produced upon my heart ; for from that 
time I recognised it to be, what it is in fact, the 
revelation of sovereign wisdom ; the genuine 
expression of the Divine will ; the message of a 
tender and compassionate Father, addressed to 
his ungrateful and rebellious children, soliciting- 
them to return and find happiness in him. I wish 
I could retrace all the impressions that this di- 
vine message produced on my mind, the vivid 
emotions I experienced, and the thoughts and 
feelings (never, I trust, to be forgotten) excited 
by that reading. 

I was like a man born blind, who should sud- 
denly recover his sight in a magnificent apart- 
ment, splendidly illuminated. My feelings at 
least corresponded with those of a man under 



36 



CONVERSION OF 



(76 



such circumstances, were they possible. How 
glorious was the light of the Gospel to me ! I 
sought for morality, and I found there the most 
simple, clear, complete, and perfect system of mo- 
rality that could be conceived ; and there I found 
precepts suited to every circumstance that could 
present itself in life, as a son, a brother, a father, 
a friend, a subject, a servant, a laborer, a man, a 
reasonable creature : my duty in every relation 
of life I there found inculcated in the most ad- 
mirable manner. I could not imagine one moral 
duty for which I did not there find a precept; not 
one precept unaccompanied by a motive ; and no 
motive that did not appear to me to be dictated 
by reason, or enforced by an authority against 
which I felt that I had nothing to object. I ob- 
served two kinds of precepts which, though tend- 
ing to the same end, i. e. perfection, produced a 
different effect upon me. The positive precepts 
presented to my mind an idea of the high degree 
of holiness at which that man would arrive who 
could keep them without a single violation. The 
negative precepts, by leading me to a close self- 
examination, impressed me with a deep sense of 
my corruption, and convinced me that the au- 
thors of them must have possessed a profound 
knowledge of the human heart in general, and of 
my heart individually. 

" Yv 7 ho then," said I, " were the writers of this 



77) PETER BAYSSIERE. 37 

book 1" And when I reflected that they were 
poor, uneducated mechanics like myself, the ques- 
tion immediately presented itself — how could 
fishermen, tax-gatherers, and tent-makers, ac- 
quire such extraordinary sagacity, penetration, 
wisdom, and knowledge! "Ah!" I exclaimed, 
"this is indeed a problem, which can only be 
solved by admitting their own assertion, that the 
Spirit of God directed their pens, and that all 
they wrote was divinely inspired." Such, my 
children, was my conclusion after this examina- 
tion of the morality laid down in the Gospel. 

Thus I recognised the divine origin of the New 
Testament, and took my first step toward Chris- 
tianity. 

When I had once acknowledged the divine ori- 
gin of the morality of the Gospel, reason and per- 
sonal experience combined to convince me of the 
truth and divine source of the doctrines on which 
it was founded. 

5 If God inspired the apostles, and enabled them 
to give to the world the purest and most perfect 
system of morality that can be conceived, is it to 
be supposed that in the remainder of their wri- 
tings he would leave them to themselves, and 
permit error or imposture to be mixed and con- 
founded with truth V No : from the same source 
cannot proceed sweet waters and bitter. As the 
moral precepts of the Gospel are divinely inspired, 



38 CONVERSION OF (78 

so, likewise, must be its doctrines. This reason- 
ing appeared to me incontrovertible, and I received 
with fall conviction the whole contents of the New 
Testament, as dictated by the Spirit of truth. 

From that time Jesus Christ, his history, his 
divine character, his miracles, the end for which 
he came into the world, his sufferings and death, 
attracted and absorbed my whole attention. At 
the account of his passion, which, till then, I had 
read with indifference, my heart was melted, and 
my eyes everflowed with tears. In short, I found 
and felt such a suitableness between the wants 
of my sinful soul, destitute as it was of all peace 
and comfort, and the work which the Saviour had 
accomplished by his death on the cross, that I no 
longer doubted that the promises of the Gospel 
were personally addressed to me. I believed that 
Jesus Christ had offered himself a sacrifice for 
me, to expiate my sins, and to reconcile me unto 
God ] and from that moment I have enjoyed an 
inward peace, the source of which I believe to 
be faith in Christ alone — a peace which the world 
can neither give nor take away, and which, as I 
myself have frequently experienced, is alone able 
to support and strengthen us through all the suf- 
ferings and afflictions of life. 

In this manner you see how, a sinner and pro- 
digal as I was, our heavenly Father met me, and 
received me to the arms of his mercy \ how he 



79) PETER BAYSSIEKE. 39 

made known to me his free grace and heavenly 
gift, of which I was utterly unworthy. It is his 
grace that has accomplished all in me. He it was 
who began, who carried on, and who, I trust, will 
perfect this work of salvation. 

Without his intervention, that is to say, with- 
out the aid of his Spirit operating upon my heart, 
it never could have experienced a real conver- 
sion. To him also do I ascribe, w 7 ith gratitude, 
my admission into the protestant church, of which 
I have now the privilege of being a member — as 
I shall proceed to tell you. 

Having found, as I have already said, peace 
and joy in that word of God which I had receiv- 
ed with my whole heart, I immediately felt the 
desire and the need of intercourse with gospel 
christians ; I was convinced that such there were, 
because the Saviour had promised rr that the 
powers of hell should never prevail against his 
church." But not finding them in the Eoman Ca- 
tholic church, which presented to me nothing but 
a religion of tradition, equally degenerate in doc- 
trine and worship, I was greatly at a loss where to 
find the real christians for whom I was in search. 

For the first time in my life the thought oc- 
curred, Is it possible they may be among the 
protestants % But instantly I repelled an idea 
which early prejudice had rendered revolting to 
me. In places inhabited exclusively by Roman 



40 CONVERSION OF (80 

Catholics, where the doctrines and worship of 
the protestant christians are little known, the 
term protestant is regarded by most as synony- 
mous with heretic, blasphemer, and reprobate. 
The people generally are imbued with these pre- 
judices, which are diligently kept up and dissemi- 
nated by some among them, and I myself was at 
that time too much under their influence to ad- 
mit, at once, that the protestants could be the 
true christians for whom I was seeking. 

Soon, however, the thought returned $ and as 
I reflected on that declaration of St. Paul, " All 
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer 
persecution," 2 Tim. 3 : 12, possibly, said I, 
these protestants maybe calumniated on the very 
ground of their religion being more in accord- 
ance with the Gospel. Many other passages of 
Scripture presented themselves to my mind, which 
led me to believe that this supposition might be 
correct. I therefore determined to lose no op- 
portunity of clearing my doubts upon this point. 

As there were no protestants either in our 
town or neighborhood, whom I could consult, 1 
determined to write to the only one I knew j 
and though but little acquainted with her, I ven- 
tured to request that I might be apprised of 
her pastor's next visit, signifying that I was anx- 
ious to consult him on a subject of importance. 
Either she did not understand my letter, or from 



81) PETER BAYSSIERE. 41 

some other motive, her answer, though obliging 
was not satisfactory on that point which most 
interested me. 

I waited patiently for some time, and applied 
myself diligently to reading and meditating on 
the word of God, which had become like neces- 
sary food to my soul. In all my prayers I en- 
treated the Lord that he would condescend to 
direct me to those true christians of whom his 
church was composed, and permit me to become 
one of their number. I felt a confidence, from 
all that I had experienced, that my divine Bene- 
factor would grant my request whenever he saw 
it good for me ; this confidence quieted me, but 
could not remove my desire to ascertain whas 
the protestant religion really was. 

One day, particularly, this anxiety became 
stronger than ever, and degenerated, I acknow- 
ledge, into real impatience. I was unhappy at 
my lonely and isolated situation, without a friend 
to whom I could communicate my dearest inte- 
rests ; I believe I could have gone a hundred miles 
to have found any one who thought and felt as I 
did. It was at this moment of perplexity and 
weariness, on my return home, at the close of a 
day's work, that the thought struck me of con- 
sulting my wife, your present mother, and I had 
a presentiment that through her I should disco* 
rer what I so long wished to know. 

Vil. in Mo un. Q 



42 CONVERSION OF (82 

She is, as you know, a native of Libos, and 1 
remembered having heard her say that there 
were protestants residing in that town and neigh- 
borhood. 

When the supper was ended, and we were 
seated by the fire, each in our chimney-corner, 
she took her work, and I began the conversation 
nearly in the following words : 

"Annette," said I, "have I not heard you say 
that there are many protestants in Libos and the 
neighborhood 1" 

" Yes, Bayssiere," she replied, " there are a 
great many, but they are a good deal scattered 
about the country. They belong to the church 
of Mont Flanquin, where their priest or minister 
resides." 

" And do you know any of them 1 Have you 
ever spoken to them, or been at their houses V 

" O yes, I was acquainted with many families ; 
I knew Mr. , and Mr. , &c. &c. (I sup- 
press names.) I have been employed in their 
houses, and seen them frequently." 

" Well, then, can you tell me what sort of 
people they are, and what their characters and 
habits V 

" yes, I can assure you that they are the 
best set of people in the world. They are es- 
teemed, loved, and respected by every one : I 
never heard any thing but good of those I knew, 



83) PETER BAYSSIERE. 13 

and they always appeared to me to conduct 
themselves irreproachably." 

I continued to question your mother on the 
manner in which the protestants brought up their 
children ; how they treated their servants, stran- 
gers, and the poor. I asked if domestic harmony 
prevailed among them, and how they conducted 
themselves as parents and children, brothers 
and sisters. 

All her answers tended to convince me that 
pious protestants lived under the influence of the 
word of God ; and at each disclosure she made, 
(though unconscious of the value I attached to 
it,) I said to myself, " This is the morality of the 
Gospel." 

Satisfied on this point, I turned to another: 

" How do the protestants spend their Sabbaths 
and festivals," I asked, rT separated as they are 
from each other and their church 1 Do they 
ever assemble for prayer, or do they live without 
worship 1" 

fr 0, no ! they don't live without worship ; 
they have their divine services ; they are at too 
great a distance from their minister and each 
other to meet every Sunday, but they have a 
church in the country where they assemble many 
times in a year, I believe once a month ; and at 
other times they meet for prayer at their own 
houses." 



44 CONVERSION OF (84 

" Oh ! then they have a church near Libos 1 I 
should very much like to know," said I, " how 
they conduct their worship, and what they do at 
their church 1" 

" I can tell you perfectly," replied your mo- 
ther, "for I was present at one of their assem- 
blies. There is nothing grand or striking in their 
churches; they contain neither altar, chapel, 
images, nor any ornament whatever, but consist 
simply of four whitewashed walls. At the lower 
end is a pulpit, like that used by our priest, in 
front of which is a table, and around it are seats 
occupied by the elders. The rest of the church 
is fitted up with benches, placed in order, on 
which the congregation seat themselves as they 
enter. 

" I observed that most of them, before they 
sat down, leaned upon the back of the seat be- 
fore them, and seemed to be in the act of prayer. 
Their service was as simple as the building, de- 
void of ceremony. When the congregation had 
assembled, one of the elders ascended the pul- 
pit and prayed aloud in French ; then he gave 
notice that he was about to read the word of 
God ; and having requested their attention, he 
did read, for some time, from a great book, which 
they told me was the Holy Bible. He then offer- 
ed prayers, and preached a sermon, which gave 
me great pleasure at the time, but which I now 



85) PETER BAYSSIERE. 45 

forget. I well remember that throughout the 
service there was no noise nor disturbance of 
any kind in the church, and one feeling seemed 
to pervade the whole : this struck me forcibly." 

In this description of the protestant worship, 
imperfect as it was, I thought I could recognise 
those traits of simplicity that characterized the 
worship of the primitive christians : and when 
your mother had finished, I said to myself, " This 
is indeed like the worship recorded in the Acts 
of the Apostles." But I added, without allowing 
her to perceive the extreme satisfaction that this 
information afforded me, " Is this all you know 
of the protestant worship ] Did you never see 
them receive the sacrament 1" 

" Yes, I have," she replied, " on that same 
day, which was the only time I ever entered 
their church." 

" Do tell me, then, how was it conducted 1" 

" I told you, if you remember, that there was 
a table in front of the pulpit : this table was their 
altar ; it was covered with a very white cloth : 
in the middle of it were a plate of bread and two 
chalices of wine. When the minister had finish- 
ed preaching, he took a book, and read from it 
some beautiful passages on the communion, suf- 
ferings, and death of Christ ; he also spoke of 
the duty of communicants; then every one 
stood up while he prayed: after which he de- 



46 CONVERSION OF (86 

scended from the pulpit, and came in front of 
the holy table ] he here repeated aloud some 
words which I have forgotten, and took a small 
piece of bread and ate it ; this done, he took the 
two cups in his hands, and again saying some- 
thing that I did not hear, he drank some of the 
wine. The elders then approached the table, 
and each received a piece of bread, which they 
ate, and drank a little of the wine from the cup 
which was presented to them. The rest of the 
congregation did the same, the women after the 
men 5 and when all had communicated, the min- 
ister re-ascended the pulpit, gave another ex- 
hortation, offered a concluding prayer, and clos- 
ed the whole by urging upon them the care of 
the poor." 

w This," thought I, " is indeed the supper of the 
Lord !" 

The conformity that I had already observed 
between the practices of the protestants and 
those of the primitive christians, created in me a 
feeling of joy which I had never before expe- 
rienced. I desired, with renewed ardor, to search 
to the bottom of their doctrines, and from that 
time I anticipated that I might myself become a 
decided Protestant. This expectation, my chil- 
dren, soon increased into a certainty. 

On the tenth of February last, two pamphlets 
fell into my hands 5 one was published by a Ko- 



87) PETER BAYSSIERE. 47 

man Catholic priest, and contained an attack on 
the protestant religion: the other was an answer, 
in defence of that religion, written hy a protest- 
ant minister : these were the first words of re- 
ligious controversy I had ever read, and eagerly 
did I devour these two little works. That of the 
first (which had been written on the occasion of 
a respectable family having recently embraced 
the Protestant faith) contained nothing that was 
solid, or that I could not have refuted in the very 
words of Christ and his Apostles ; therefore I did 
not dwell upon it. But the second, under the title 
of A Letter to Malanie, was the very thing I want- 
ed, and was so anxiously desiring to find — an ex- 
position of the protestant creed, or at least of 
its most essential points. It taught me that the 
Gospel was their only rule of faith, worship, and 
conduct : that they admitted all that they found 
established by the Holy Scriptures, but rejected 
every thing else, and especially prohibited the in- 
vocation of saints, the worship of images, of re- 
lics, and of the holy Virgin. It taught me that 
they worshipped God alone, through Jesus Christ 
his Son 5 that their only hope of salvation was in 
his mercy, revealed in the sacrifice of the cross 
of Christ ; that they recognised no other Media- 
tor, no other Advocate, and no other Intercessor 
with God, than him who gave himself as such, 
and who alone has the right of saying to sinners, 



48 CONVERSION OF (88 

V Come unto me and I will give you rest." It 
taught me that they believed no more than my- 
self in purgatory, in the supremacy of the pope, 
or in the real presence, &c. In short, it taught 
me that the protestants received and professed 
no other than primitive Christianity. 

It would be impossible for me to tell you how re 
joiced I was to find my most intimate feelings ex- 
pressed by a minister of a religion founded on the 
Gospel. From this, and from all that your mother 
had told me, I clearly saw that the Protestants 
were unjustly accused and misrepresented by the 
wicked or the ignorant, and that they were in truth 
those christians, according to the word of God, 
to whom the promises of the Gospel are made. 
From that time I acknowledged them as my true 
brethren in Christ Jesus, and my chief desire was 
to be admitted into their communion. 

I clearly foresaw, my children, that by making 
an open avowal of my religious principles, and by 
publicly declaring myself a Protestant, I should 
raise many violent passions against myself, and 
expose myself to a thousand trials ; but the truth 
was dearer to me than life, and conscience spoke 
louder than the fear of man. I resolved, therefore, 
without hesitation, to confess my Saviour before 
men, let the result be what it might, and I imme- 
diately wrote to Mr. , the pastor at Nerac, and 

the author of the letter I had read, requesting the 



BO) PETER BAYSSIEIiE. 40 

assistance of his experience and kind advice. In 
short, after I had been eleven months in corres- 
pondence with this excellent minister of the 
Lord ; after I had visited him, in order to acquaint 
him more fully with the state of my mind, and to 
enjoy the privilege of his instruction ; after I had 
frequently attended the performance of Protes- 
tant worship and their different religious ordinan- 
ces i after I had carefully compared these, as well 
as their doctrines, with the only standard of truth, 
the word of God, and was fully convinced of their 
perfect accordance, I no longer saw a motive for 
delay, but requested admission, and was received 
as a member of the Protestant church. 

On the twenty-third of the December following, 
I went to Nerac, and on Christmas day, in the 
presence of the whole congregation, having, as 
I trust, first given my heart unto the Lord, I be- 
came publicly united to his saints, and received 
the sacred symbols of the body and blood of my 
Saviour at the Lord's Supper, and pledged myself 
to remain faithful to him till death. I trust that 
he will vouchsafe to me his assistance for the ful- 
filment of this promise, and manifest his strength 
in my weakness. 

Thus it was, my beloved children, that I became 
a member of the Eeformed Church of Christ. I 
have now explained to you the circumstances and 
motives that have led me to its sanctuary. In the 



50 CONVEX? SION OF PETER BAYSSIERE. (90 

presence of God I attest the truth of all I have 
now written. The ranks of the true church are 
not recruited by means of bribery, deceit, fraud, 
false miracles, or compulsion ; all means are re- 
jected but instruction, reason, and persuasion. 
This church has been formed, and still exists, not- 
withstanding the blows that have been levelled at 
it ] and it will for ever continue, in spite of all 
the rage of hell , sustained by the simple exhibi- 
tion of that Gospel which is its only guide and 
support. 

May it please that God whom I supplicate for 
the salvation of all men, and more especially for 
the conversion and prosperity of my enemies, to 
give his grace to you, my children, that you may 
be found among the number of those who shall 
be saved. Happy should I be, not only to be 
your natural father, but also your spiritual father ! 
Happy, indeed, should I be, if at that great day, 
when we shall appear before God to receive the 
sentence of our eternal destiny, I might be able 
to present myself and you, without fear, and say, 
"Here, Lord, am I, and the children thou hast 
given me." 

P. Bayssiere. 
Montaigut, Dec. 31, 1826. 



^m$M asssvQafcv 



OF A 



IE 3K ft & 21 



HISTORY OF A BIBLE. 



After remaining a close prisoner for some 
months in a bookseller's shop, I was liberated, 
and taken to the country to be a companion to 
a young gentleman who had lately become major. 
The moment I entered the parlor where he sat, 
he rose up and took me in his hands, expressing 
his surprise at the elegance of my dress, which 
was scarlet, embroidered with gold. The whole 
family seemed greatly pleased with my appear- 
ance 5 but they would not permit me to say one 
word. After their curiosity was satisfied they 
desired me to sit down upon a chair in the corner 
of the room. In the evening I was taken up stairs, 
and confined in the family prison, called by them 
the library. Several thousand prisoners were un- 
der the same sentence, standing in rows around 
the room ; they had their names written upon 
their foreheads, but none of them were allowed 
to speak. 

We all remained in this silent, inactive posture 
for some years. Now and then a stranger was 
admitted to see us : these generally wondered at 
our number, beauty, and the order in which we 



4f HISTORY OF A EIBLE. (94> 

stood j but our young jailor would never allow a 
person to touch us, or take us from our cell. 

A gentleman came in one morning and spoke 
in high commendation of some Arabians and 
Turks who stood at my right side ; he said they 
would afford line entertainment on a winter even- 
ing. Upon this recommendation they were all 
discharged from prison, and taken down stairs. 
After they had finished their fund of stories, and 
had not a word more to say, they were remanded 
back to prison, and one, who called himself Don 
Quixotte, was set at liberty. This man, being ex- 
tremely witty, afforded fine sport for William, 
(for that was our proprietor's name.) Indeed, 
for more than a fortnight he kept the whole 
house in what is called good humor. After 
Quixotte had concluded his harangues, William 
chose a "Man of Feeling" for his companion, 
who wrought upon his passions in a way which 
pleased him vastly. William now began to put a 
higher value upon his prisoners, and to use them 
much more politely. Almost daily he held a lit- 
tle chit-chat with one prisoner or another. Mr, 
Hume related to him the history of England 
down to the Revolution, which he interspersed 
with a number of anecdotes about Germany, 
France, Italy, and various other kingdoms. Dr. 
Robertson then described the state of South 
America when first discovered, and related the 



95) HISTORY OF A BIBLE. 5 

horrid barbarities committed by the Spaniards 
when they stole it from the natives. William 
wept when he heard of their savage treatment 
of Montezuma. Rollin next spoke ; he related to 
him the rise and fall of ancient empires ; he told 
him that God was supreme governor among the 
nations ; that he raises up one to great power 
and splendor, and putteth down another. He told 
him, what he did not know before, that God had 
often revealed to some men events which were 
to happen hundreds of years afterwards, and di- 
rected him to converse with me, and I could ful- 
ly inform him on that subject. William resolved 
to converse with me at a future period, but hav- 
ing heard some of his relations speak rather dis- 
respectfully of me, he was in no hurry. At length 
my prison door was unlocked, and I was con- 
ducted to his bed-room. 

My first salutation struck William. In the be- 
ginning, said I, God made the heavens and the 
earth ; and then proceeded to make man, whom 
he placed in a garden, with permission to eat of 
every tree that was in it, except one. I then re- 
lated the history of Adam, the first man : how he 
was urged and prevailed upon by the devil not to 
mind God's prohibition, but to eat of the forbid- 
den tree ; and how by this abominable act he had 
plunged himself and posterity into misery. Wil- 
liam not relishing this conversation, closed my 



6 HISTORY OF A BIBLE. (96 

mouth, desiring me to say no more at that time. 

A few days afterwards he allowed me to talk 
of the wickedness of the old world: how God 
sent Noah to reprove their iniquity, and to threat- 
en the destruction of the whole world, if they did 
not repent and turn to the Lord ; that the world 
were deaf to his remonstrances ; and that God at 
last desired Noah to build an ark of wood, such 
as would contain himself and family 5 for he was 
soon to destroy the inhabitants of the earth by a 
deluge of water. This conversation was rather 
more relished than the former. 

The next opportunity, I gave him a history of 
the ancient patriarchs, showing the simplicity, 
integrity, and holiness of their lives, extolling 
their faith in God, and promptness in obeying all 
his commandments. William became much more 
thoughtful than I had seen him upon any former 
occasion. What I told him he generally related 
to his friends at table. Their conversation was 
now more manly and rational ; formerly they 
conversed only about horses, hounds, dress, &c. 
now about the history of the world, its creation, 
the remarkable men who had lived in it, the dif- 
ferent changes which had taken place in empires, 
kingdoms, &c. 

He was wonderfully taken with the account I 
gave of that nation whom God had chosen for 
his own people, viz. the Jews. I told him how 



97) HISTORY OF A BIBLE. 7 

wonderfully God had delivered them from cap- 
tivity in Egypt 5 how he drowned in the Red Sea 
an army of Egyptians, with their king at their 
head, who were pursuing the Jews. But when I 
told him of the holy law of God, and expatiated 
a little upon it, he shrugged up his shoulders and 
said it was too strict for him. Well, William, 
said I, cursed is every one who continueth not in 
all things written or commanded in that law. He 
pushed me aside, ran down stairs, and soon be- 
came sick and feverish. His mother begged of 
him to tell her of his sudden distress. He said I 
had alarmed him exceedingly , that he found him- 
self a great sinner, and saw no mercy for him in 
the world to come. His mother came running up 
stairs, and in the heat of passion locked me into 
my old cell, where I remained in close confine- 
ment for some days. But William could not dis- 
pense with my company ; accordingly I was sent 
for. I found him very pale and pensive ; however, 
I faithfully told him, that the imaginations of the 
thoughts of the heart are only evil, and that con- 
tinually. He said he lately began to feel that ; 
he had tried to make it better, but could not. 
Upon this a stranger entered the room, and I was 
hid at the back of a sofa, because the family were 
quite ashamed that I should be seen talking with 
William. The stranger remarked that he had 
seen him talking with me, assured him that I 

ViL in Moun. 7 



8 HISTORY OF A BIBLE. (98 

would do him much more harm than good : that 
I had occasioned great confusion in the world, by 
driving many people mad. On this, they all join- 
ed in scandalizing my character, and I was again 
confined to my old cell. 

But when my God enables me to fix an arrow 
in any sinner's heart, the whole universe cannot 
draw it out. William was always uneasy when I 
was not with him ; consequently he paid me many 
a stolen visit. I told him one day not to trust in 
riches, for they often took to themselves wings, 
and flew from one man to another, as God di- 
rected them. Job once possessed houses, lands, 
sheep, a flourishing family, all of which were 
taken from him in a few hours 5 but God never 
forsook him. 

William's friends got him persuaded to take a 
tour for a few weeks, to remove the gloom which 
hung upon his mind. He did so 5 but he returned 
more dejected than ever. The moment he arrived 
I was sent for to talk with him. I directed him to 
behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the 
sins of the world : I said there was no other name 
given under heaven among men, but the name of 
Jesus, by which they could be saved ; that God so 
loved the world as to send his Son into it, to save 
it by his death. I then went over the whole his- 
tory of the Saviour, from his birth at Bethlehem 
to his death on Calvary 5 describing his resurrec- 



99) HISTORY OF A BIBLE. 9 

tion, and pointing out the evidence of it ; then 
led his attention to Bethany, describing the mar- 
vellous circumstances attending his ascension to 
his Father ; and testified to him the wonderful ef- 
fects which followed in the immense increase of 
conversions to the faith. I then enlarged unon 
Christ's commission to his apostles, commanding 
them to publish to every creature under heaven 
the glad news that Christ had died for the ungod- 
ly j had finished redemption, and ascended up 
on high to receive gifts for men, and to bestow 
them on all who believed God's testimony con- 
cerning him. 

God opened the mind of William to perceive 
the importance and truth of these things. He be- 
gan to hope in God, through the offering of his 
Son a sacrifice for sin. I advised him now to fol- 
low holiness, without which no man shall see the 
Lord in heaven, or can continue to see his glory 
on earth; to have no fellowship with wicked men ; 
to be a faithful steward of whatever God had 
given him. I told him how Christ rewarded those 
who overcame all their enemies through faith in 
his blood, and by believing the word of his testi- 
mony. This conversation made him very happy, 
and he left me, rejoicing in the Lord. 

Sometime after, he came with a sorrowful 
heart, complaining that he did not feel the Lord's 
presence $ that God had forsaken him. I assured 



10 HISTORY OF A BIBLE. (100 

him that was impossible 5 for God expressly says 
he will never leave nor forsake his people 5 and 
that he changes not in his love to them. I warned 
him to be cautious how he spoke against God, 
for such language is calling God a liar. 1 told him 
likewise, that the church had once preferred a 
similar complaint against her God ; upon which 
Jehovah protested that it was possible for a mo- 
ther to forsake her infant child, but impossible 
for him ever to leave or to forsake his people ; 
for he had pledged his word to the contrary. 
Wherefore I warned him to be no more faithless, 
but believing ; and by doing so he would glorify 
God greatly before men : it would tend to make 
men think more favorably of God, and probably 
lead some to seek an interest in his favor, who 
otherwise would not. Upon this he cried out with 
tears, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. I 
change in my love, but thou changest not. Wil- 
liam left me, determined to rejoice evermore, 
and to pray without ceasing. 

At first his friends thought religion had made 
him less happy than he was before ; now they de- 
clared they had never seen him in such good spi- 
rits, and so truly happy. They began to wish 
they were like him. William longed for the com- 
ing of the Lord, while they trembled at the very 
thought of it : they rather wished he might never 
come. This was a great advantage he had over 



101) HISTORY OF A BIBLE. 11 

them by the grace and tender mercy of the Lord. 
He exhorted them to come to the same Saviour, 
and he would receive them also with open arms. 

William was afterwards brought into great af- 
fliction. I told him God sent it to him for good, 
to make him more holy, humble, dead to sin and 
the world, and more fit for heaven. He believed 
me, and praised God for his attention to him, to 
send this messenger of affliction to do him good. 
A person who came in, expressed sorrow at see- 
ing him so pained. William replied, don't sorrow 
for me ; rejoice rather, because God has said that 
our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, 
work out for us a far more exceeding and an 
eternal weight of glory. I am willing to be sick, 
or to die, or to recover, just as God pleases ; 
whatever pleases him pleases me. 

I was never from him during his sickness ; he 
praised God daily that he had ever seen me. He 
was happy only when he talked with me or about 
me. He recommended me to all who came near 
him, declaring that my words created a heaven 
in his soul. He found me to be the mouth of God 
to him. 

William was completely recovered from his in- 
disposition, by which his knowledge of God, and 
experience of his faithfulness and love, was much 
increased. I continued his bosom companion for 
many years. He walked in the fear of God, and 



12 HISTORY OF A BIBLE, (102 

in the comforts of his Holy Spirit, till at length 
he entered, with triumph, into the eternal joy of 
his Lord. 



After conducting William to the gates of the 
New Jerusalem, I was sent for to reside with a 
young man in the middling ranks of life, who had 
received a liberal and religious education from 
his parents, lately removed from this poor world. 
The effects of their example and counsel were 
evident in all his conduct. He lived what men 
call a good moral life, his deportment was very 
agreeable, and his sobriety was commended by 
many. He regularly conversed with me twice 
every day, and prayed in his closet morning and 
evening. On Sabbath I talked to him from dinner 
to tea, and from tea to supper. 

An old uncle of his perpetually exhorted him 
to go abroad to amass a fortune. He did not at 
first relish the advice. One day he consulted me. 
I bluntly told him to be content with such things 
as he had ; not to hasten to be rich, for he would 
thereby pierce himself with many sorrows : that 
numbers were ruined through the deceitfulness 
of riches. Labor not for the meat that perisheth, 
said I, but for that which endureth to everlasting 
life. After this conversation, he reasoned with 
his uncle against leaving his country and friends 
merely to make money in a foreign land : he de- 



103) HISTORY OF A BIBLE. 13 

clared that the object was a pitiful one to an im- 
mortal creature, who must soon bid an eternal 
adieu to the affairs of time. However, after stand- 
ing his ground for some months, he consented to 
go a voyage to the West Indies. 

He set sail from Liverpool, and took me along 
with him. As there were several passengers in 
the ship, all of whom were profane sinners, he 
was ashamed to let me be seen ; of course I was 
hid in a corner of the state-room, completely 
masked. On the first Sabbath morning, he took a 
single peep at me before the other passengers 
awoke. I hastily told him to remember the Sab- 
bath to keep it holy ] that God was every where 
present to witness the works of men. He re- 
solved to abide by my advice, and to keep at as 
great a distance from those on board as he well 
could. They asked him to take a hand at cards, 
but he refused. Pho ! said they, we have got one 
of your superstitious christians along with us ; we 
shall have nice sport with him. They teased him 
with his religion the whole day, and poor George 
could not well bear it. One bold sinner asserted, 
that before they reached their destination, they 
would have all his enthusiasm hammered out 
of him. 

George having none to encourage or counte- 
nance him, and not possessing firmness sufficient 
for confessing me before men, resolved to dis- 



14 HISTORY OF A BIBLE. (104 

pense with his religion during the voyage, and to 
comply with their abandoned customs, while he 
continued in the ship. Thus he fell before temp- 
tation. 

One day in the midst of his merriment, he re- 
collected an advice which I had solemnly given 
him. It was this : When sinners entice thee, 
consent thou not. Immediately he rushed out of 
the cabin, threw himself on his bed, and wept bit- 
terly. He cried out, (but not so loud as to be 
heard,) I have ruined my soul, O what would my 
worthy mother have said, had she witnessed my 
conduct for days past. On his return to the cabin > 
the sadness of his countenance was observed by 
the company ; they laughed heartily and assured 
him that his reluctance to join them in what they 
termed sociality, arose from the prejudices of edu- 
cation : that he must endeavor to banish all his 
fears of futurity, and mind present enjoyment. 
These and similar observations gradually un- 
hinged the principles of young George, and be- 
fore reaching their destined port, his checks of 
conscience w T ere almost gone. What a dreadful 
state, when man's conscience ceases to be his re- 
prover ! Men are often glad when they obtain 
this deliverance, but the infatuation is as shock- 
ing to a pious mind as to see a man in flames 
rejoicing in the heat which will infallibly con- 
sume him. 



105) HISTORY OF A BIBLE. 15 

After the arrival of the ship, we all went ashore ; 
and George was soon fixed in a very advantageous 
situation for money making. When the first Sab- 
bath arrived, he protested against transacting 
business on that day, declaring that he had never 
been accustomed to any thing of that kind. They 
advised him to labor hard seven days in the week, 
that he might return sooner to the country from 
whence he came ; and at length prevailed on him 
to conform to their infidel practices. I told him 
that for all these things God would bring him into 
judgment ; that he was like the rest of the wicked, 
who waxed worse and worse ; that he did not love 
Jesus Christ, else he would keep his command- 
ments, notwithstanding all the raillery and re- 
proach to which he was exposed. I warned him 
that whoever was ashamed to confess Christ be- 
fore men, of him would he be ashamed in the pre- 
sence of his Father and the holy angels. 

In a few months he became as wicked and aban- 
doned as any on the island. He made a present 
of me to a poor native, who could read a little 
English. I frequently conversed with him, but he 
could not understand what I said. He often de- 
sired me to speak to his companions. A few 
were greatly affected with what I said. They 
often called upon me. Sometimes they pleasantly 
said my words made them very happy, they de- 
sired to go to that happy world which I commend- 



16 HISTOilY OF A BIfiLE. (106 

ed so highly. They fervently prayed to Jesus 
to take them to it. An old slave creeped in one 
day, inquiring if Jesus could do any thing for 
very bad people. I replied, It is a faithful saying, 
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners, even the chief. He is able to save unto 
the very uttermost all who come unto God through 
him. The black man, bathed in tears, exclaimed, 
Good book ! tell me good news ! Like the Ethio- 
pian eunuch, he went away rejoicing. 

After some years I was sent for in great haste 
to visit my old proprietor George, who by his 
intemperance was brought to the gates of death. 
In his affliction he remembered me. I told him 
fools make a mock at sin, but sin finds them 
out. God had been long angry with him every 
day. He confessed he had been a great sinner. 
He said that bad company had been his ruin; 
that by following their example he had destroyed 
a fine constitution; that in his distress his bottle 
companions had all forsaken him ; they could not 
bear the thought of death. Had I my days to 
begin again, said he, I would flee from a swearer 
or a drunkard, as I would from the plague. He 
prayed fervently that God would forgive his ini- 
quity for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ. His 
fever increased, and in a few days he went the 
way of all the earth. 

After this I became the inmate of a respecta- 



107) HISTORY OF A BIELE. 17 

ble family which had long been on the island. 
The master and mistress were professors of reli- 
gion, but during their residence in the island they 
had neglected many of its most important duties. 

At length one of their children became ill and 
died. They came to me for consolation. I gave 
them to understand, that it was because they had 
gone astray that they were afflicted, and that their 
affliction was designed to call them back to duty. 
They were at length persuaded of their error, 
and praised God that he had loved them so much 
as to chastise them. They now strove to serve 
God with all their hearts. They listened to me 
when I told them that they should instruct their 
children in religion on every proper occasion, 
both when they sat in the house and when they 
walked by the way. The youth of that family 
became at length distinguished throughout the 
island for every virtuous and amiable quality. 

But what did more to make religion respected 
in that house, was the practice of family prayer. 
I was brought out night and morning, and per- 
mitted to speak before all the family, which was 
seated around the room in a respectful and at- 
tentive attitude. I seldom spoke with more effect 
than on these occasions. I addressed every mem- 
ber of the family in their turn. I commanded 
the parents to treat their children with mildness, 
and the children to obey their parents. I told the 



]S HISTORY OF A BIBLE. (108 

little ones that Christ took little children in his 
arms and blessed them ; and bade the servants 
do their duty to their master, and the master to 
be kind to his servants. And when my instruc- 
tions were finished, all in the house united in 
singing a hymn to God ; and I believe they some- 
times made melody in their hearts. When they 
had sung, my master would kneel and offer up a 
humble prayer to God. These exercises caused 
harmony to prevail throughout a numerous fa- 
mily. I observed also that although the inhabit- 
ants of the island did not relish my master's 
piety, yet he every day obtained more and more 
of their respect, as his piety increased. 

I have lived many years, and have seen all 
those children grown up (I believe through my 
instructions) in the fear of the Lord. I was by 
the bed-side of their parents when the messen- 
ger Death came to call them away. I spoke to 
them of the joys of heaven, and of its inhabit- 
ants, who sing praise to the Lamb, and cease not 
day nor night. They cried, " Lord Jesus, come 
quickly," and ascended to glory. 

I have always been a faithful friend to all who 
have sought acquaintance ..with me. I will be 
faithful to thee, reader ! I will show thee the 
only path that leads through this world to hea- 
ven. Follow my instructions, and you will ar- 
rive there in safety. 



PUBLICATIONS 

OF THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 



D'Aubigne's History of the Re- 
formation. 4 vols. 12mo, $1 75 
extra cloth. 

Baxter's Saints' Everlasting 
Rest, 12mo, in large type ; also 
18 mo. 

Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, 
12mo, in large type, and l8mo. Both 
editions neatly illustrated. 

Jay's Morning Exercises. 

Mason's Spiritual Treasury, for 
every day in the year. 

Flavel's Fountain of Life. 

Flavel's Method of Grace. 

Bishop Hall's Scripture Histo- 
ry. 

Bishop Hopkins on the Ten Com- 
mandments. 

President Edwards' Thoughts 
on Revivals. 

Venn's Complete Duty of Man. 

Owen on Forgiveness, or Psalm 
cxxx. 

Gregory's (Olinthus, LL.D.) Ev- 
idences of Christianity. 

Paley's Natural Theology. 



Dr. Spring's Bible not of Man. 

Nelson's Cause and Cure of In- 
fidelity. 

Memoir of Mrs. Isabella Gra- 
ham. 

Memoir of Mrs. Sarah L. Hunt- 
ington Smith. 

Sacred Songs for Family and 
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patent notes. Also, the Hymns 
separately. 

Doddridge's Rise and Progress 
of Religion in the Soul. 

Edwards' History of Redemp- 
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Volume on Infidelity, comprising 
five standard treatises. 

Pike's Persuasives to Early Pi- 
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Pike's Guide to Young Disciples. 

Anecdotes for the Family and 
the Social Circle. 

Universalism not of God. 

Dibble's Thoughts on Missions. 



ELEGANT PRACTICAL WORKS. 



Wilberforce's Practical View. 
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Jay's Christian Contemplated. 
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lected by late Rev. Dr. Milnor. 

CHRISTIAN 

Rev. Claudius Buchanan, LL.D., 
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Rev. John Newton. 

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in India. 

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MEMOIRS. 

Normand Smith. 

Richard Baxter. 

Archbishop Leighton. 

Matthew Henry. 

Rev. C. F. Schwartz, Missionary 

to India. 
Rev. Samuel Pearce. 
Rev. Samuel Kilpin. 
Hannah Hobbie. 



OTHER SPIRITUAL WORKS. 



Edwards on the Affections. 

Baxter's Call to the Uncon- 
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Alleine's Alarm to the Uncon- 
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Flavel's Touchstone. 

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Helffenstein's Self-Deception. 

Pike's Relig. and Eternal Life. 



Sherman's Guide to an Acquaint 
ance with God. 

Baxter's Dying Thoughts. 

Matthew Henry on Meekness. 

Andrew Fuller's Backslider. 

Scudder's Redeemer's Last Com- 
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Scuddee's Appeal to Mothers. 

Burder's Sermons to the Aged, 



MISCELLANEOUS WORKS. 



Bogue's Evidences of Christ'y. 
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Men. 
The Reformation in Europe. 



Nevins' Thoughts on Popery. 
Spirit of Popery, [with 12 eng> 
Mason on Self-Knowledge. 
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Hymns for Social Worship. 



POCKET MANUALS. 



Clarke's Scripture Promises. 
The Book of Psalms. 
The Book of Proverbs. 
Daily Scripture Expositor. 
Gems of Sacred Poetry. 
Bean and Venn's Advice to 

Married Couple. 
Daily Food for Christians. 
Heavenly Manna. 



Cecil And Flavel's Gift for 

Mourners. 
Daily Texts. 

Diary, [Daily Texts interleaved.] 
Crumbs from the Master's Ta 

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Milk for Babes. 
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BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. 



Gallaudet's Script. Biography, 
7 vols., from Adam to David. 

Gallaudet's Youth's Book of 
Natural Theology. 

Child's Book on Repentance. 

Peep of Day. 

Line upon Line. 

Precept upon Precept. 

Amelia, the Pastor's Daughter. 

Trees, Fruits, and Flowers of 
the Bible, [9 cuts.] 

Elizabeth Bales. By John Angell 
James. 

Emily Maria. 

Newton's Letters to an Adopt- 
ed Daughter. 

Child's Book on the Sabbath. 

Nathan W. Dickerman. 

ALSO— 



Mary Lothrop. 

John Mooney Mead. 

Henry Obookiah. 

Gallaudet's Life of Josiah. 

The Dairyman's Daughter. 

Charles L. Winslow. 

Withered Branch Revived. 

Amos Armfield, or the Leather- 
covered Bible. 

The Child's Hymn-Book. Select- 
ed by Miss Caulkins. 

Scripture Animals, [16 cuts.] 

Letters to Little Children, 
[13 cuts.] 

Pictorial Tract Primer. 

Watts' Divine and Moral Songs. 

With numerous similar works. 



Dr. Edwards' Sabbath Manual, 
Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4. 

Dr. Edwards' Temperance Man- 
ual. 



In German— 31 vols, various sizes. 
In French — 32 volumes. 
In Welsh — Pilgrim's Progress and 
Baxter's Saints' Rest and Call. 



Also, upwards of 1000 Tracts and Children's Tracts, separate, bound, or 
m packets, adapted for convenient sale by merchants and traders, many of 
thern with beautiful engravings — in English, German, French, Spanish, Por- 
tuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and Welsh. 

fitp^ It is the design of the Society to issue all its publications in good type, 
for the poor as well as the rich ; and to sell them, as nearly as may be, at 
cost, that the Society may neither sustain loss nor make a profit by all its sales. 



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